Photo Courtesy of the BBCCatherine Meushaw
Staff Writer
Fans of Brazilian soap, Amor à Vida, lead a successful social media campaign for two male characters to kiss. This wasn’t just any ordinary kiss, it was historic–the first gay kiss on Brazilian television. While Brazilian television has had gay characters before, they have never kissed in front of the camera. In 2005, a gay kiss was cut in the finale of a different soap, as the kiss was deemed controversial.
The Facebook and Twitter campaign was partly led by Jean Wyllys, Bazil’s first openly gay MP. The kiss took place on Friday’s episode of the soap between characters Felix and Nikko. Twitter hashtags like #beijafelix (“Kiss him Felix”) and #beijogay (“gay kiss”) were used. Both hashtags had thousands of tweets before and after the kiss. On the BBC Brasil Facebook page, there are over 3,200 comments about the story, ranging from praising the kiss to condemning it.
Scriptwriter Walcyr Carrasco said the kiss was always planned, but there have been some unconfirmed reports that they had filmed two alternative endings: one without a kiss and one with a simple peck on the cheek.
Planned or unplanned, it was still a great moment for LGBT representation on Brazilian television.
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