Globo Enrages Team Behind Soap Opera by Cutting Controversial Scenes

09/23/2014 - 09h31

Following gay kisses in the last two Globo soap operas broadcast in the 9pm slot, the opening episodes of current show Império promised to further ruffle the feathers of Brazil's morality brigade.

Written by Aguinaldo Silva, it premiered in July, and has four homosexual characters.

One is in the closet, married to a woman who accepts the situation. He is in love with a young man, and both are being blackmailed by a gossip journalist.

There is a transvestite character, who sleeps in the same bed as a female friend. Played by the curvaceous Viviane Araújo, the friend is constantly shown wearing just a negligee.

There is also a romance between a fiftysomething year old man and a nymphet, scenes of male striptease and a couple who prostitute their own children.

However, it seems that Globo itself has retreated into the closet. It is now cutting material from Império, both before and after the episodes have been recorded.

This has particularly affected the more controversial characters and some of the more risqué scenes.

Folha has learned that the Globo editing team has decided that gay kisses, sex, nudity and swear words are "best left out". This came as a surprise to the writer and the cast, who have complained within the channel and on social networks.

"Even [children's program] Chiquititas has more sex than Império," complained Aguinaldo Silva on Twitter.

"Without sex, families don't exist," argued actor Alexandre Nero, also on Twitter.

The censorship is supported by Globo's research, which suggests that the primetime audience tends to be more conservative in its tastes.

In a statement, Globo said that the editing is a standard process for all its shows. Folha also sought out the writer and members of the cast, but nobody wished to comment.

CENSORSHIP

Ever since the famous disappearance of the gay kiss in the soap opera América (2005), the Globo audience has shown in surveys that it is not against the discussion of issues related to homosexuality.

However, this does not mean that the audience accepts same-sex love scenes.

According to Globo sources, the recent survey revealed that the Império audience likes the gay characters; however, the average viewer is still not comfortable with scenes involving kissing and touching between them.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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	Reprodução
	The Globo audience has shown in surveys that it is not against the discussion of issues related to homosexuality