After being given no explanation for his unfair dismissal, former gay porn actor Ruggero Freddi won his lawsuit against University La Sapienza in Rome, Italy.

Before becoming a university professor, Ruggero Freddi used to work as an actor in the gay porn industry in the US under the name Carlo Masi. After obtaining two degrees, one in Mathematics and the other in Engineering, he started doctoral research and became a professor at the Faculty of Engineering at University La Sapienza in 2017.

Speaking to Italian newspaper Repubblica, Freddi recounted how, while working at the university, he started to feel that his colleagues and superiors were prejudiced against him. “It’s just my opinion. But I felt like there were prejudices around me, which were beyond my skills as a teacher and as a data analyst, the role I occupy today,” he said.

Freddi recalled noticing an increasingly hostile environment, with many of the extracurricular activities he proposed being cancelled without explanation. One such episode involved a meeting on the topic of HIV that he had organised with a student group, which was cancelled after he presented the programme.

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Things only got worse in 2019 when he was offered a teaching position for a Mathematics course. After he worked for 60 of the 100 foreseen hours, the university dismissed him without any explanation and refused to pay him for the work done.

Freddi then filed a lawsuit in the Civil Court in Rome, and on January 24, the judge ruled in his favour and ordered the university to pay the former gay porn actor €2,500 for the teaching hours he worked and a fine amounting to €1,500 for “unjustified dismissal”.

Freddi welcome the ruling, saying: “I was forced to sue. And I won. I hope my case gives courage to all PhD students who are exploited after years of studies and specializations“

He added, “Now I have a normal job, with a salary. I hope that others will also find the courage to speak out.”