Police in Italy have launched an investigation after Kanye West and Bianca Censori were caught on camera in a compromising position while on vacation in the country. The couple made headlines last week when they were seen enjoying an intimate moment on a water taxi in Venice, with West baring his buttocks in front of curious tourists.
In other photographs, the 46-year-old American rapper was seen sitting at the rear of a river taxi, with the 28-year-old Australian, Bianca, resting her head in his lap. This comes just a day after West and Censori were banned for life by a Venetian boat company following an incident of indecent exposure involving the rapper.
To Be Grilled by Cops
Authorities in the Venetian city, a favored destination for British vacationers, have identified the river taxi's driver, according to a MailOnline report. It is expected that he will be questioned in the coming days to provide an account of what he saw on the boat.
Moreover, the police are requesting photographers to hand over the images that gained widespread circulation, according to the outlet.
A police source in Venice told the outlet, "There are standards of public decorum that have to be followed by tourists and locals alike and any breaches are severely punished. The images of West with his trousers down while in a taxi as he and his partner crossed the lagoon were seen all over the globe.
"You could clearly see his trousers were half down and we have received complaints from people who witnessed it. Now we have identified the driver of the boat and we will be asking him what he saw as well.
"The images show the couple clearly in a state of intimacy and if the local prosecutor decides to press charges then we will notify the couple, most probably through the relevant embassies. The offence being investigated is acts contrary to public decency which is punishable by an administrative sanction."
Venetian authorities have expressed strong displeasure, which is unsurprising given that the city imposes fines for violations such as swimming in the canals, having open-air picnics, and sitting on the steps of public buildings.
A source close to the city's mayor Luigi Brugnaro told MailOnline, "By chance the monthly meeting on public security is imminent and this sort of behaviour will be discussed. Venice is famous for being one of the most beautiful cities in the world and we expect tourists to maintain a respectable level of decency when visiting.
"These public acts of spectacle are not what we or the millions of tourists who come here each year wish to see and we take a very dim view of it. We can only hope that the prosecutor imposes a fine and then the couple will think long and hard about their behaviour if they return to Venice in the future."
Courting Controversy
On Monday, Venezia Turismo Motoscafi, who rented the boat to the couple, told Daily Mail Australia on Sunday that West and Censori will "no longer be welcome" aboard any of their vessels. The company told the outlet in a statement that up until the photos went public last week, its staff members were "completely unaware" that West had dropped his pants on board.
The statement read: "On board, the driver had to keep a lookout for traffic and did not see these obscenities. If this had happened, he would have immediately disembarked and reported the transgressors to those in authority."
"In addition, there was a third person on board the taxi, who accompanied Mr. and Mrs. West, who obstructed the captain's view to the stern in any case."
The Italian rental company has strongly condemned the explicit and inappropriate behavior displayed by West and Censori, stating, "We completely dissociate ourselves from such actions and conduct."
The report of the police investigation comes exactly a week after photographs of the 46-year-old Yeezy designer exposing his buttocks while riding on a river taxi in the Venice canals were published by Page Six.
During the outing, Kanye West wore an all-black outfit and partially covered his face with a cloth as he sat on the boat.
Censori was photographed sitting close to him on the lower deck of the vessel.
Once the boat was docked, Censori was seen adjusting her leather trench coat as she and West, along with an unidentified female companion, disembarked.
The rapper known for "Flashing Lights" had a non-legally binding wedding ceremony with the Australian architectural designer in January. This event took place two months after he finalized his divorce from Kim Kardashian.
Just last week, a source refuted rumors suggesting that the "Kardashians" star, 42, is feeling "desperately embarrassed" by her former husband's indecent exposure incident in Italy or his publicly affectionate romance with Censori.
"Kim has very much moved on," the source told us. "[She] only wishes Kanye and Bianca the best."
