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Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli has said she was “humiliated and offended” by the blockade measures imposed in the country due to the coronavirus.
“He was unable to leave the house even though he had committed no crime,” said Bocelli.
He also admitted to disobeying the blocking rules and believing that the severity of the pandemic had been exaggerated.
His comments will surprise many as he became a symbol of national unity at the height of the shutdown.
On Easter Sunday, the acclaimed Bocelli sang alone in a deserted Milan cathedral in a live performance called Music for Hope.
Bocelli made the remarks at a conference in the Italian Senate attended by opposition politicians, including Matteo Salvini, leader of the league’s far-right party.
Salvini has attacked the government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte for handling the health crisis in Italy.
A national blockade began in Italy in early March and was eased in stages over the following months.
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Andrea Bocelli gave a solo performance at the height of the running of the bulls in Italy
During Bocelli’s speech, which he delivered in Italian, the 61-year-old man said he disobeyed the blocking rules “because I didn’t think it was right or healthy to stay home at my age.”
He added: “I am a certain age and I need sun and vitamin D.”
Bocelli also suggested that other citizens should “refuse to follow the rules.”
He said he thought the outbreak had been exaggerated and that he did not know anyone in intensive care. “So what was this whole sense of gravity for?” I ask.
“Let’s refuse to follow this rule. Let’s read books, we move, we know each other, we talk, we dialogue,” he said.
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Bocelli, who has two adult children from his previous marriage and a daughter with his second wife and manager, Veronica Berti, also criticized the Italian government’s approach to reopening schools.
“I have an eight-year-old daughter and it is unthinkable that these children have to go to school divided by a piece of Plexiglass and hidden behind a mask,” he said.
“It is unthinkable that schools close so fast and nightclubs reopen with the same speed, where young people are not going to learn, but to scatter their brains.”
Bocelli has since claimed that his comments were “misunderstood,” adding that his foundation has helped many people who have had the virus.
Italy’s blocking rules have now been largely regionalized, but face masks are compulsory on public transport and in stores, and a social distance of one meter is required in public spaces.
Theaters and concert halls can now reopen with a maximum of 200 audience members for indoor events and 1,000 for outdoor areas.
More than 35,000 Italians have died from the coronavirus.
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