Note from BBT: I’ll say it again. It’s just too much. This 21st season of Big Brother Brother that started off with so much promise and excitement for fans of the show, particularly black Brazilians, has to descended into status of a train wreck. Even though I’m not an avid viewer of the show, from social networks alone, I can gauge the near total disappointment in what viewers are seeing.
Due to the announcement that it would have a record number of black participants, it was first seen as symbol of the representation that black Brazilians have so long demanded. In the previous seasons, it was the norm to see two or three black participants, so when it was announced that as many as nine Afro-Brazilians would participate, the reaction was almost like seeing a family member cross the stage and accept a hard-earned college degree. OK, I’m exaggerating a bit, but you get the picture.
Needless to say, people couldn’t wait until the start of Brazil’s most popular reality show. But then something happened. The show started and almost from the beginning, the smiles of anticipation started turning into dropped jaws and frowns of disgust. Some of the things people were seeing and hearing on the program were just hard to believe. The participants on the show are both well-known and unknown and everything in between.
In the first week of the program, the personality that disappointed the most viewers was, hands down, the rapper/singer Karol Conká. She’s been featured in a number of past posts on this blog and millions of people, particularly black women, adored her. In her rhymes and interviews, she spoke of empowerment, acceptance, sexism, racism and a number of other flags that she carried. Her popularity led to endorsement deals, participation in highly publicized live shows such as the 2016 Olympics held in Rio, appearances on various TV programs and even hosting a television program.
But then people saw the real Karol and they didn’t like what they saw to put it lightly. With her antics, behavior, attitudes, positions, opinions and treatment of others on BBB21, her name didn’t just turn to mud, it turned to sh*t as people were simply blown away with how she came across on TV. People couldn’t believe that this was the Karol Conká they adored so much. Her brand has been so tarnished that a few days ago, an Instagram page was created calling for the cancellation of Conká.
Soon after the debut of BBB 21, as the rapper/singer began to lose followers by the tens of thousands, the page called ‘Rejeição de Karol’, meaning ‘rejection of Karol’, soon surpassed the followers of the star’s own profile. As of just a few days ago, Conká had about 1.2 million followers while the Karol rejection page had already surpassed 1.4 million. A huge shift of fortune for someone whom was seen as the favorite to eventually win the prize of 1.5 million Brazilian reais (BRL).
So what did she do to become the target of so much hate? It would take too long to list everything, but below, two writers list just a few incidents that sullied her reputation and what repercussions could me for the star.
Eight times when Karol Conká was not deconstructed at ‘BBB 21’;
By Beatriz Amendola
We had high expectations for Karol Conká, who arrived on “BBB 21” bringing all the empowerment baggage of her songs. But the reality is that the singer has disappointed many people out there with her prejudices. A few weeks back in particular, Karol poured out a number of discriminatory comments – and most of them remained out of the program’s editing. .
Here, we recall Karol’s not-too-deconstructed moments:
Xenophobia
One Friday night, Karol talked about her annoyance with the participant Juliette’s expansive manner and hinted that she was more polite than her rival because she was from the city of Curitiba, the capital city of the southern state Paraná. Juliette hails from the northeastern state of Paraíba.
Speaking about Juliette, Conká said: “No, it’s that person’s way, because in that person’s hometown, it’s normal to speak like that. I’m from Curitiba, it’s a very reserved city … I have a lot of education to talk to people.”
The veiled prejudice against the northeasterners brought Karol a lot of criticism on social networks, including from former BBB participant Flay. In Brazil, northeasterners are stereotyped in a similar manner as people from the south of the United States. This is a troubling position because for decades, the southern region of Brazil, which is overwhelmingly white, has always looked down on people from the northeast of the country, viewing them as backward, lazy and uneducated. The northeast, in constrast to the south, is heavily populated by black and brown people. With her views, Conká seems to support the stereotype about people of northeast origin. Via Instagram, the rapper’s profile posted an apology on her behalf.
Relativization of harassment
Karol also said that Juliette could “turn the key” and accuse one of the boys in the house of trying to grab her. This is a speech that invalidates and calls into question the words of victims of harassment and other types of sexual violence. These crimes, it is worth remembering, tend to be underreported.
Translation: Karol was one of the people I was most happy to see joining the BBB and it’s being my biggest tumble, I’m disgusted by this woman. Juliette can be irritating, but to imply that she would pretend to be harassed is very low and disgusting.
Religious prejudice
Karol also showed prejudice against religions of African origin when she said, in conversation with Lumena and Fiuk, that he would make a circle around Lucas to say an “Our Father”. Then, in a fight with Lucas at dawn one Sunday, she asked: “Where is your God to help you in this moment of madness?” It’s a shame to see when Afro-Brazilian religions such as Candomblé that face relentless attacks and stereotyping are the target of such comments by Afro-Brazilians themselves.
Translation: “Lucas saying that god is his best friend and Karol questioning “where is he to support you in this moment of madness?” People, it’s not possible”
‘Bad breath’
Karol also said that Lucas had bad breath due to his “badness”. And yes, it is prejudiced to associate physical characteristics, which may be linked to health problems, to someone’s character.
Mental health
Karol even said very wrong things about mental health. In her fight with Lucas, she said that his attitude “can make people want to kill themselves”. It’s a frivolous and an irresponsible statement – even more so because Lucas himself revealed, in the conversation, that he has tried to take his own life.
Translation: Karol: this way of yours can make someone want to kill themselves. Are you aware of the trigger that this phrase is for someone who has had depression? Are you aware that depressed people have a trigger for suicide? Imagine the risk of talking about something like that
She had also been unhappy when speaking (again) of Juliette. Karol criticized the sister for saying that “she was losing her personality” in the confinement. “If she’s going crazy, I’ll be her asylum. I’ll going to make her ask to leave”, she added.
And Karol even made fun of participant Kerline for the anxiety attack that the sister had on Saturday, after fighting again with Lucas. She had already done the same to another participant, Carla Diaz.
Translation: Karol Conka is rotten, with Lumena and Nego Di making fun of the anxiety crisis that Kerline had yesterday
Translation: What Karol Conká did to Lucas Penteado is inhumane. And what is more shocking is knowing that it was done publicly, in front of everyone in the house and no one said anything – “BBB21: How can Karol Conká’s evil be ignored by the participants?”
The last straw was the fact that Konká convinced the other participants to eat before Lucas Penteado so that he would have to eat alone. This act outraged the viewing public that called the act “inhumane”.
“I want to eat in the peace, understand?” said Conká. “I don’t want you to talk while I’m at the table eating, thank you, respect me, thank you. I don’t want to, I’m not in the mood,” she said.
At that point, Lucas had made a number of mistakes in his interactions with other participants, which viewers acknowledged but they most agreed that he didn’t deserve to be treated in such a manner. But beyond Conká’s behavior, I wondered how it is that the other participants complied with her order, left the table leaving Lucas to sit alone.
Note: Conká’s behavior has come at a cost and numerous Afro-Brazilian entertainers and social media personalities have denounced her after watching her antics.
From lacradora to cancelled: Conká destroys her own image
The singer does a disservice to black militancy by acting in a contradictory manner to the tolerance she has always preached in the media
By Jeff Benício
The first announced member of the ‘BBB21’ cast, Karol Conká became one of the favorites to win the reality show even before entering the house. The public and the press bet on the rapper’s charisma, happiness and politicized speech.
Amidst the bonfire of vanities, Karol Conká doesn’t realize she is reducing her reputation to dust
A little over a week after the beginning of the top-rated reality show, she really became a highlight, but a negative one. She managed to disappoint everyone with her attitudes and words. The accelerated deconstruction of her persona generated the self-destruction of her public image.
In social networks and in the media, Karol has been accused of being arrogant, intolerant, incoherent, aggressive, and xenophobic. The hostility with which she treats Lucas (a young man with clear emotional problems) and Juliette (who takes an anxiety medication) has outraged the viewing public.
Parallel to this, the singer displays a level of narcissism that makes her blind. She believes she is dominating the game and has a large fan base out here. Such self-deception proves her disconnection from reality due to the cult of her own ego. Sooner or later, the rapper will suffer a violent shock of reality.
Translation:
- GNT (TV) stops showing program with Karol Conká on TV. her career took years to be constructed, but it can take hours for you to knock it down
- BBB21: Ex-manager of Karol Conká vents about singer: “Bad character” – Karol Conká’s attitudes inside the BBB21 house are not having good repercussions on the outside
- BBB21: (Rapper) Emicida is disappointed with Karol Conká and the web reacts
- Famous criticize Karol Conká’s xenophobia on BBB21
- Jojo Todynho posts a message for Instagram for Karol Conká: All the admiration that I had for you Karol is gone”. (Todynho is a funk singer and was the recent winner of a reality show on another TV network, Record)
- BBB21: After Karol Conká questions where Lucas’s god was, (singer) Ludmilla says that she will start a campaign to eliminate the rapper
Seen as a reference among women for her fight against machismo, and as a black icon due to her anti-racist activism, Karol Conká is ruining the career and prestige she constructed over the years. The damage could be irreversible.
Professionals who have worked with her report egocentrism and lack of ethics. Faced with the snobbery seen on TV, numerous followers are abandoning her social networks. An online mobilization called for her expulsion for mistreating colleagues on the show. Artists, influencers, and contractors say they are disappointed. Even a small demonstration against the singer took place at the entrance of Globo TV, in Rio.
Translation: (Comedian/social network personality Tia Má): “Seeing Karol Conká’s posture on BBB makes me remember a phrase I heard when I came into militancy: ‘Not every black is my ally, not every white is my enemy. Learn to distinguish each one’…This is exactly what it’s about.”
Thiago: “Karol Conká only serves to validate all the violence and abuses that black men suffer every day in this country. Disgusting!”
On the internet, a huge expectation was created about Karol Conká going to the wall where viewers vote for participants who should be eliminated from the program. In today’s scenario, she would certainly be eliminated with a high rate of rejection. She would leave the reality show with the title of villain and the colossal challenge of rehabilitating her public figure. She, who thinks she is more popular and esteemed than she is, will be forced to carry the weight of the bad reputation and the stigma imposed on the ‘BBB’ rejects.
Note from BBT: This report is just the tip of the iceberg. Just after BBB21 started airing its new season, social networks were literally flooded with perhaps hundreds of thousands of comments repudiating Conká’s behavior. With that said, I do wonder something. This is not to say that it’s not possible that this is simply the real Karol, but knowing how the media works, I do sometimes wonder if some entity is putting her up to such behavior. Not only is she losing tens of thousands of fans, she’s also losing possibly lucrative contracts for endorsements, live shows, and media appearances. One estimate of the lost revenue due to her antics could be as high as 5 million reais. But what if she had some sort of side deal to purposely carry on in this manner that rewards her such behavior? I know this idea sounds as outrageous as she’s acted, but knowing how the entertainment business works, don’t dismiss the possibility.
After all, stranger things have happened…
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