Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro © Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has received a deluge of criticism after tweeting an explicit video of a ‘golden shower’ performance at Carnival – and following it up by claiming not to understand the term.
Bolsonaro shared an explicit video on his official Twitter account on Tuesday, said to be taken at Brazil’s annual carnival, in which one man pees on another’s body and hair. The pair appear to be dancing on top of a bus shelter and it isn’t clear if they are performers or just revelers.
Despite claiming he was not comfortable sharing the video, Bolsonaro tweeted it anyway and said: “We have to expose the truth to the population to have knowledge and always take their priorities. This is what has turned many blocks of street in the Brazilian carnival.”
Não me sinto confortável em mostrar, mas temos que expor a verdade para a população ter conhecimento e sempre tomar suas prioridades. É isto que tem virado muitos blocos de rua no carnaval brasileiro. Comentem e tirem suas conslusões: pic.twitter.com/u0qbPu9sie
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) March 5, 2019
O nosso presidente @jairbolsonaro denegrindo mundialmente a maior festa brasileira.
Festa que gera milhares de empregos. pic.twitter.com/WmIEUXs0B5
— Geraldo Rodrigues (@GERALDOCVO) March 6, 2019
Bolsonaro, who is openly homophobic, appeared to be criticising the annual six-day festival which was held in Brazil this week and is popular with gay people. Many were shocked that a president would post such explicit content with a video that makes President Donald Trump’s most scandalous tweets pale in comparison.
Warning: Contains explicit footage
When the PRESiDENT of Brazil shares explicit piss play gay video to complain that Carnaval has become too gay. https://t.co/Uzg6VUZMIZ
— Diego Semerene (@DiegoSemerene) March 6, 2019
That's a big fat lie!!! Brazil's carnaval is not defined by what the President has posted. This specific footage is somewhat bizarre, but it does not represent the national celebration that is carnaval. Bolsonaro's view isn't shared by the majority, only by trolls like @malalves
— Leonardo de Oliveira (@ldeolive) March 6, 2019
He received sharp rebukes from social media users who said it was irresponsible of the Brazilian president to share such a graphic video on Twitter, where many children could see it. Others accused Bolsonaro of lashing out at the festival because many attendees protested his presidency at it.
Bolsonaro, a minha neta de seis anos tomou conhecimento dessa cena no seu twitter. Ela e outros milhoes de crianças cujos pais o seguem. Quero ver como o Presidente da República vai explicar o que elas viram. Você precisa de tratamento médico com urgência.
— Blog do Pannunzio (@blogdopannunzio) March 6, 2019
Um fato isolado não significa que toda a festa seja assim. Isso é um raciocínio básico. Você ainda não acordou que é o presidente da república. Cadê a postura civilizada? Não se trata de sentir ou não confortável, há crianças que seguem teu perfil. Errou feio?
— Martelo De Nietzsche (@martelodnietz) March 6, 2019
Many, though, were more concerned with his follow-up tweet posted some 12 hours later, which asked: “What is a golden shower?” despite the fact that the video he shared shows a golden shower. Much of the world became more familiar with the term in the wake of reports of Trump’s “pee tape.”
READ MORE: Ain’t that a p*sser? #GoldenShowers trends after unverified report of Trump sexcapades
O que é golden shower?
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) March 6, 2019
pic.twitter.com/HIZg2skGWT
— Ronaldo Monfredo (@samara7days) March 6, 2019
Pergunta pro @realDonaldTrump que ele manja. pic.twitter.com/N4YbYucdtx
— Sandro Sanfelice (@Zanfa) March 6, 2019
Translation – Jair Bolsonaro, around 12 hours after he posted an explicit video of an actual golden shower (in addition to manual anal self-penetration) during Carnaval, he logs on and tweets, "What's a golden shower" – Is he…OK? or who's running this account?
— Vincent Bevins (@Vinncent) March 6, 2019
“‘What’s a golden shower,’ the leader of the world’s 4th largest democracy asked on Wednesday morning hours after trying to silence his carnival critics by tweeting a pornographic video he claimed was a fair representation of his country’s most important cultural institution…”
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) March 6, 2019
Bolsonaro’s tweets were received by many Twitter users as the latest expression of his long-running preoccupation with homosexuality.
The Brazilian leader has previously said: “Yes, I’m homophobic and very proud of it,” and that he would rather his son “died in an accident” than be gay. In an interview with Stephen Fry he also claimed “homosexual fundamentalists” were brainwashing children to become gay so they can “satisfy them sexually in the future.”
Within hours of his inauguration in January, he had already instructed his human rights minister to ignore all complaints and violations involving LGBTQ Brazilians.
Brazil's President @JairBolsonaro last night – for reasons somewhat unclear – posted a video to his official Twitter account of a man inserting his finger into his anus & then being urinated on by another man during Carnival. Twitter put a warning on it https://t.co/d6F50zKfxi
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 6, 2019
Come on, Glenn, it is not unclear. Carnaval was filled with chants and protests against the president. He sought to delegitimize a Brazilian tradition by showing that. It was a sad desperate move by a manbaby to diverge attention away from critics.
— Fabio 'the last true liberal' Machado (@FabioLugar) March 6, 2019
(It says the tweet is unavailable but that's because Bolsonaro blocked me & all other journalists at @TheInterceptBr). Male anuses have long played a central role in Bolsonaro's worldview. He speaks of them often. In 2017, he tweeted about anal sex to me https://t.co/SpdrWctKSE
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 6, 2019
Like this story? Share it with a friend!