Alexandre Thomaz, a participant in the fourth season of Love Is Blind Brazil, has responded to criticism for making a fatphobic comment during the show’s “pods” phase. The entrepreneur admitted his mistake and apologized but also complained about a Netflix post on the subject.
The platform’s Instagram page posted a clip from the season’s first episode, which has caused public outrage. In the clip, Alexandre is heard saying, “I’m screwed. I only liked one who sounds like she’s fat,” to a fellow contestant.
Ariela Carasso, who has undergone bariatric surgery, decided to confront the event producer in the pods after learning about the comment. Alexandre claimed he did not remember making the remark.
“I don’t remember if I said that. I don’t recall saying it. And if I did, I was completely wrong. I’m being very sincere,” he told Ariela.
On Thursday (20th), Alexandre addressed the Netflix post on his social media profile. “And the Netflix Instagram page that, besides starting to follow me, posted a reel with me on the cover? Yeah,” he began.
“The title of the video is ‘He denied saying it, but it was all recorded.’ Initially, I said I hadn’t said it. But then I took it back,” emphasized the event producer.
Love Is Blind aims to answer whether it’s possible to fall in love with someone without seeing them, thus excluding physical aspects from the process and focusing on emotional connection. However, the reality show highlights the difficulty some participants have in adhering to this rule.
Negative Reactions
Engaged to Renata Giaffredo on the show, Alexandre also responded to comments on his video. “Own up to your mistake, dude!” wrote Ana Assad. “I did, and I apologized. It was an unfortunate comment,” Alexandre admitted.
“Typical guy who can’t stand by his jokes,” remarked Gabriel Prado. “I said I was wrong,” he retorted. “You talked a lot about appearances and how important they were to you. When Renata did the same, you freaked out. I don’t get it,” mocked Ludmila Hepburn. “Only snippets are shown there; there was more conversation that wasn’t aired,” he claimed.
“I think someone going on a ‘blind’ date shouldn’t even think about whether someone is ‘fat’ or not. What you implied is that if she were chubby, you wouldn’t be interested! Had you been drinking? Okay! But the mouth speaks what the heart already holds,” stated Jhenny Estefani. “I made an unfortunate comment and apologized. Watch the upcoming episodes, and I believe you’ll change your opinion of me,” responded Alexandre.
“We understand that emotions run high in there, and alcohol makes us say things we don’t remember later. But watching it, you can see you’re a good person who made an unfortunate comment that today causes a lot of controversy,” said Mariane Miranda. “I was unfortunate, but I’m not a bad person for that comment. I made a mistake and learned from it,” he agreed.
Another show participant defended Alexandre. “To clarify: it was at the end of my pod session that he made the comment, and I told the girls! I believe he doesn’t remember it; he was quite intoxicated, as everyone was! Due to anxiety, no one ate well that day; it was the last pod session of the day, everyone was exhausted and had been drinking all day!” explained Karina Carmo. “Thanks, Ka, for clarifying,” he thanked her.
Amanda Souza, a participant from the second season of Love Is Blind Brazil, started a social media trend in protest against the prejudiced comment. The plus-size influencer got engaged to Paulo Simi in her season, but he chose not to continue the relationship after seeing her for the first time, being accused of fatphobia at the time.
“I’m Amanda Souza, and I have a fat voice,” stated the image consultant. “Where’s your fat voice?” she asked, encouraging other women to record their videos. Bianca Sessa from the third season of the reality show also joined the trend.
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