«I felt at fault. I spent ten years trying to be accepted, an illusion given that I was never good anyway: beautiful and frivolous, not even beautiful, inadequate, light-hearted.”
Giulia Salemi, 31 years old, model and television face (from Beijing Express to Big Brother VIP), from Piacenza transplanted to Milan, has decided that “enough is enough”. And al Courier tell us why. “I chose this job between the internet and TV. I know criticism is natural. But it’s bad to constantly have someone who hits you, offends you, yells at you, says “you’re a runaway”. I am so much more and I want to prove it.”
And where do we start from?
«I became an interviewer, with my podcast I don’t do it for fashion (at the top of the Spotify and Apple charts): keeping listeners’ attention for an hour requires skill, empathy and study. And it’s a bit like psychotherapy: the Cynical Beautician, Alfonso Signorini (among the first guests, ed.) spoke of the difficulties they overcame to get to where they are.”
As she wants to do.
«The title of the podcast comes from an accusation that has often been made against me».
An episode more painful than others?
«In some programmes, light commentary was required by contract. An episode comes out and certain articles follow: how silly it is. I felt bad about it for years. Milan has something to do with it.”
In what sense?
«In Milan you make a bit of a pact with the devil: to be accepted you have to stay within the system – fashion, entertainment -, that is, always be pretty, well-groomed, with the right joke like those you have to hang out with, little bitch. A mask. I grew up saying what I think, I’m true, so I had to stop myself, I was walking on eggshells. I made mistakes, yes, but at 31 I’m sick of them.”
She landed in Milan seeking her fortune.
“I found it. But I worked hard to overcome what I don’t like. Now I have stability: my boyfriend (Pierpaolo Pretelli, ed.), two-three friends because the others have disappointed me, my family. I’m not much of a socialite, I like to stay at home and watch TV. It’s enough for me and I say: this is how I am, I accept myself. If others don’t like it, it’s the same.”
Why did she feel at fault?
«I went to events and never had the topic ready. And to say that I studied.”
What?
«Social sciences in high school, then economics in Piacenza. In marketing I got 29, in public law I got 27, I couldn’t get out of mathematics: I gave up. Why don’t I remember anything about the exam subjects? Maybe it’s a disorder and I should look into it further. Simona Ventura, among the first I worked with, recommended at least two newspapers to me every morning. Also Alfonso Signorini: inform yourself. I’m doing. On my phone – which makes us go crazy – I have the newspaper apps, all the notifications active. My goal is to read a book a month.”
The last one?
“It moved me Too proud, too fragile on Maria Callas by Signorini. AND Little girls don’t existby Ukmina Manoori, gift from a fan.”
Lives with digital content.
«Moderation is needed: in the past I posted whatever, now I think more substance is needed. I forward content for work, something about myself, I tell a story about a place I liked, beautiful things that I feel like sharing. Less, with more quality.”
She’s an influencer: you’ve gone from being the most envied category to the most criticized.
“I’ve been on social media for 10 years and there have always been criticisms.”
The Ferragnez case is sensational: does the ostentation of luxury play a role in the attacks?
«Rich people have always existed and if you have one – or ten – more bags it doesn’t mean you can be wished dead. Tenacity leads one to be in the wrong.”
Can you tell us about your Milan?
«Anyway I love her. It was 2014, after a period at university I asked mother Fariba (Salemi is Iranian on her mother’s side, ed.) for a sabbatical: if I didn’t get good grades as a child she wouldn’t give me pocket money, let alone then. So I promised that I would come and look for work. Money was little, I did auditions one after the other, the promoter in shopping centers, the hostess at events: for 50 euros they sent me all over Italy. Once I became an “umbrella”, how embarrassing: the others were beautiful.”
She too.
“No! When I started as a model I didn’t work much. I was too flat to be a classic model, too little flat for fashion shows, not tall or thin enough. I had an unibrow until I was 18: when I took it off my mother – who saw it as an offense to Iranian tradition – wanted to throw me out of the house.”
And she moved from Piacenza to Milan.
«I found a place near Corso 22 Marzo: a bunk bed for 300 euros, there were ten of us in the house».
Really.
«I toured a lot of houses. After leaving the first Big Brother, I lived in a studio apartment in Viale Jenner, a difficult area in 2018, I wasn’t very calm. A few meters on the mezzanine floor: chaotic view of the street. Roommate was my cousin who came from Iran, when I got engaged I changed again. Today I live in a residential area.”
And do you feel more confident?
«There is a security problem in Milan. Years ago in the Dateo area a man started following me, he had a chain. I heard footsteps behind me. I thought: if I run he will chase me. So I faked a phone call, spoke out loud, pretended that someone was waiting for me at the door which luckily wasn’t far away. I was terrified. It went well. Now I always go out accompanied.”
How did it go with work?
«When I was a model, the PRs took us to do our image in restaurants. From Giannino I met Domenico Zambelli: from Emilia like me, he directed me towards Miss Italia. I placed third. My mother was with me, they offered us Beijing express. Then it was Big Brother’s turn. I suffered some bad comments there.”
Would he return to the House?
«As a competitor, no, as a commentator, yes».
As a commentator he spoke about social media.
«Beautiful and complicated thing. The problem: there is a lack of regulation. Anyone who opens a profile should provide their identity card. Instead they smear you with false names. Two or three characters persecute me: I block them, they reappear with another nickname. I recognize them by their ways, by their method. They insult me and my loved ones.”
Did he report them?
«I was at the postal police: if there isn’t a real name everything comes to a standstill. But I don’t abandon what I do: I love it too much.”
