The Sopranos is one of the most beloved and praised series in television history. In fact, the series is often credited with launching the “prestige TV” trend. Laying the foundation for many boundary-pushing shows. However, despite being loved, The Sopranos was not without its controversies. But its strangest controversy, one linked to Columbus Day, crossed into the real world.
What caused The Sopranos Columbus Day controversy?
This controversy was launched by the episode “Christopher.” This was the third episode of the show’s fourth season, and it hit screens just as the show was reaching the peak of its popularity. At the same time, it was frequently controversial, with some Italian-American groups complaining that the show presented an outdated and stereotyped view of Italian-Americans.
The core theme of the episode was Italian-American pride. It featured Silvio Dante complaining about Native American groups attempting to protest the Columbus Day parade. A second storyline saw the main characters’ wives getting offended by a speaker who insulted the mafia and tried to distance Italian culture from the mob and its history.
“Christopher” is often considered the show’s worst episode due to how it ignores the characters’ previous characterization for the sake of the plot. Especially because Silvio Dante showed no interest in politics before this episode or after it, meaning his anger made little sense. The episode was so bad that outlets like Vox wrote breakdowns of the episode and what went wrong years after the series finally wrapped up, showing that it was infamous enough to stick in peoples’ minds.
How did this episode cause controversy?
Two actors from The Sopranos had been invited to march in 2002’s Columbus Day parade in New York. The two actors were Lorraine Bracco (who played Jennifer Melfi) and Dominic Chianese (who played Corrado Soprano, Jr.). This decision angered local Italian-American groups who believed the show pushed outdated stereotypes. The Columbus Citizens Foundation, the parade’s organizers, were also upset that Mayor Bloomberg had invited these guests without consulting them.
The president of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, Larry Auriana, said: “This is not the mayor’s parade.” Before going on to say: “The show stereotypes the Italo-American family in the worst way.”
It should be noted that they were not invited for their part in The Sopranos. Then-mayor Michael Bloomberg said that Bracco was asked because of her work as an “environmental spokesperson,” and Chianese was invited for his work “promoting tourism to the city”. When asked about the decision, Bloomberg said: “I didn’t invite them as members of ‘The Sopranos.’ I didn’t invite any other members of ‘The Sopranos’ cast. These are two nice people who have gone out of their way to help the city.” Before adding: “I apologize if anyone’s offended. If you are offended, don’t wave back when they wave to you.”
Via HBO, Bracco made a much more considered statement. She said: “I am glad the mayor has acknowledged me as a successful Italian American actress. As a native New Yorker and activist, it is a privilege to march next to the mayor.”
Surprisingly, Bloomberg’s statement didn’t calm tensions, and the Columbus Citizens Foundation took the matter to court. They filed a lawsuit in Manhattan’s Federal District Court to block Bracco and Chianese from marching with the mayor. After calling the trial a ‘‘little diversion,” the judge agreed that the guests couldn’t march in the parade, but refused to compel Bloomberg to march. In response, Bloomberg said he wouldn’t march in the parade at all.
Edward Skyler, the Mayor’s press secretary, said: ”This lawsuit was a waste of the city’s time. And this group should be ashamed of themselves for bringing it. The mayor will not be marching.”
In fact, Bloomberg said, rather than marching, he would have an Italian dinner with Bracco, Chianese, and their families, leading to Edward Skyler finishing a press statement with the frankly hilarious line ”Last we heard, they didn’t ban Sopranos at Dominick’s.”
Chianese then issued another statement reading: ”I grew up in the Bronx, and it is my honor to celebrate Columbus Day there with the mayor and Lorraine. ‘Where you celebrate the holiday is not important. Who you celebrate it with is what counts. I want to thank the mayor for supporting us and taking this issue so seriously.”
While the story was running, the New York Times interviewed several local and famous figures about the argument. This included Dominick DeProspo, the co-founder of the Bronx Columbus Day parade. This parade happens a few days before the one organized by the Columbus Citizens Foundation, and Bloomberg was scheduled to walk in that parade as well. Dominick DeProspo said:
“I tell you, I couldn’t have them march in my parade. I’d lose my financial people. I’ve been getting those phone calls all today — ‘If you let them march I’m pulling out my money’ — and if I don’t have no donations, I don’t have a band, I don’t have a parade. The Columbus Day people in Manhattan are right. You can’t have that. What happens is this — you give them an inch and they take a yard. You let them march in the parade, first they come with two, then there’s six. They’re like ants at a picnic. You see one and then you look down and there’s 40 of them.”
The paper also talked to former mayor Rudy Giuliani, who told the paper that:
“I’m a big ”Sopranos” fan. The show is a terrific show, and I would urge some Italian-Americans to be less sensitive. You could spend your whole life wanting to be insulted. Why? Why do you want to be insulted?”
What happened during the 2002 Columbus Day parade?
Bloomberg did march in the Bronx parade the day before, but he didn’t bring the actors from The Sopranos with him. After this parade, he talked to the press and mocked the situation, saying: ”I think, you know, we should all lighten up a little bit.”
During his speech, he said, “It’s great to be in the Bronx, and it’s great to be at a parade where you can march with all your friends.” However, in a later statement, he did praise the parade run by the Columbus Citizens Foundation, noting, “It will be a great parade and people should have a good time, and people should celebrate everything that those of Italian descent contribute to this city.”
When asked about the controversy, Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa, one of the organizers behind the Bronx parade, said, ”When you come in with only those people, then you’re making a statement. I don’t think the mayor realized it. And I think, unfortunately, he got caught in the crossfire on this.”
Bloomberg didn’t march in the Columbus Citizens Foundation parade, making him one of the few New York mayors to not march in the parade in some form. However, he did have his Italian dinner with Bracco and Chianese.