 In the Salò republic, Mussolini returned to his original republicanism and as part of his attack on the House of Savoy, Fascist newspapers in the area under the control of the Italian Social Republic "outed" Umberto, calling him "Stellassa" ("Ugly Starlet" in Piedmontese language).The Fascist newspapers reported in lucid, sensationalist, and in a decidedly homophobic way Umberto's various relationships with men as a way of discrediting him.It was after Umberto was "outed" by the Fascist press in late 1943 that the issue of his homosexuality came to widespread public notice.