ENOUGH! Italian American One Voice Coalition Blasts Hulu’s “The Mob” for Branding Italians and Italian Americans as Mobsters

For immediate release! 

Contact: Andre’ DiMino, andre@iaovc.org

ENOUGH! Italian American One Voice Coalition Blasts Hulu’s “The Mob” for Branding Italians and Italian Americans as Mobsters

Hulu Profits From Mafia Caricatures and “Wack” Talk, Filmed in Italy and Aimed at an Entire Heritage, a Slur No Network Would Dare Use on Any Other Ethnic Group 


 Northvale, NJ – The Italian American One Voice Coalition (IAOVC), America’s largest independent Italian American anti-bias organization, today condemned Hulu’s new reality series The Mob for its demeaning and hurtful portrayal of Italians and Italian Americans through the tired mobster and mafioso stereotype. The series is packed with mob references, threats of violence, and casual talk of “wacking” people. By filming in Italy, The Mob ties that stereotype to the Italian people and the Italian homeland, as if being Italian and being a mobster were the same thing. IAOVC demands that Hulu answer for it.



“This is not entertainment. It is ethnic stereotyping, packaged and sold for ratings,” stated Andre DiMino, President, IAOVC. “The title alone says it all. The Mob. And they filmed it in Italy, so the message to the viewer is that Italy and Italians equal organized crime. Imagine a network green-lighting a reality series that reduced any other people and their homeland to criminals, thugs and buffoons. The outcry would be immediate, and the show would be pulled. Yet when it is Italians and Italian Americans, the entertainment industry shrugs, laughs and cashes the check. Why does political correctness vanish the moment the target is Italian?” 

Filmed in Italy, and Turning a Nation of Culture Into a Criminal Backdrop 

Italy gave the world Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Dante, Galileo, Verdi, Puccini, Marconi and Montessori. It gave the world the Renaissance, opera, and some of the finest cuisine, fashion, engineering and design on earth. Hulu and the producers of The Mob chose to take cameras to this land and use it as the setting for a show built on mobsters and violence. 

That choice goes beyond one program. It tells American viewers, and a global streaming audience, that Italy is a place of mobsters, and that Italians at home and abroad are criminals or wannabe criminals. It hits Italian Americans especially hard, because the ties of family, heritage and ancestry that bind them to Italy become raw material for a cheap stereotype. 

A Double Standard the Industry Refuses to Admit 

Hollywood and the streaming giants say they are committed to inclusion and respect, and they apply those standards loudly and rightly to other communities. Italians and Italian Americans are left out of that protection. For decades they have been acceptable targets, and The Mob is the latest example.


The series trades on the same worn-out formula:

  • Mobsters and mafiosi as the defining image of Italian and Italian American identity 
  • Casual talk of violence, including threats to “wack” people, played for laughs 
  • Bimbos and buffoons as the supporting cast of a so-called Italian world 
  • Italy itself as the stage for the stereotype. 

“This is not harmless fun,” DiMino continued. “These images shape how Americans and the world see Italians and Italian Americans. They affect how our children are teased in school, how our young people are viewed by employers, and how our community is judged. Stereotypes cause real harm.” 

The Real Italian and Italian American Story 

Nearly 17 million Americans proudly claim Italian ancestry - hardworking, law-abiding citizens, and their contributions are among the foundations of this nation: 

  • Scientists and inventors, from Enrico Fermi, whose work helped usher in the atomic age, to Antonio Meucci, recognized by the U.S. Congress for his pioneering work on the telephone 
  • Public servants and jurists, including Fiorello La Guardia and Supreme Court Justices 
  • Physicians and medical researchers who have saved countless lives 
  • Business leaders, artists, filmmakers and athletes who enriched American culture 
  • Police officers, firefighters and military heroes, including the Italian Americans who ran toward danger on September 11, 2001, and the generations who served in World War II and every conflict since

“Our fathers and grandfathers fought on the beaches of Sicily and Salerno, built America’s bridges, tunnels and skyscrapers, and ran into burning buildings to save strangers,” DiMino said. “To reduce that legacy, and the land it came from, to a cartoon of ‘wise guys’ and ‘wackings’ is an insult to every one of them.” 

Shame on Those Who Lend Their Names, Especially Those of Italian Heritage 

IAOVC reserved particular criticism for cast members of Italian heritage, including Bruno Tonioli and Aida Turturro, who have lent their talent and credibility to the production.



“It is especially disappointing, and frankly shameful, when people of Italian heritage take part in perpetuating the very stereotype that has wounded our community for generations,” said DiMino. “They know better. They know the cost of these caricatures. To participate in The Mob gives cover to producers and executives who would never dare to do this to anyone else. We call on them to reconsider their participation and to stand with their heritage, not against it.” 

IAOVC’s Demands 

The Italian American One Voice Coalition calls on: 

  1. Hulu and its parent company to acknowledge that The Mob should never have been commissioned, and withdraw it from its platform. 
  2. The producers, writers and executives of The Mob to take responsibility for the stereotypes they have promoted and to meet with Italian and Italian American community leaders. 
  3. Advertisers and sponsors to reconsider their association with content that demeans an entire people. 
  4. The entertainment industry to extend to Italians and Italian Americans the same respect and sensitivity it demands for every other community. 
  5. Viewers everywhere to speak out. Do not watch. Do not share. Do not subscribe. Contact Hulu and demand better.

“We are done being the punchline,” DiMino concluded. “Italians and Italian Americans have earned respect, not ridicule. Hulu made a mistake by getting involved with The Mob. We will not be silent. We urge every American who believes in fairness to join us in saying: ENOUGH.” 

About IAOVC 

The Italian American One Voice Coalition (IAOVC) is an IRS-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to combating defamation and negative stereotyping of Italian Americans and to promoting the community’s true history, achievements and contributions to America. IAOVC is a nationwide coalition of Italian American organizations and individual members. IAOVC membership is open to individuals and all Italian American organizations to join together as a coalition defending and celebrating Italian American heritage and culture. To join visit iaovc.org/membership. 

IAOVC issues a free email newsletter, “The Alfano Digest.”. The Digest issues alerts on instances of bias, stereotyping, discrimination, and defamation. It contains informative Italian American cultural, educational and heritage information. To request the Alfano Digest at no charge, fill out the form on iaovc.org.