The São Paulo Court of Justice (TJ-SP) sentenced the presenter Gilberto Barros to two years in prison for the crime of homophobia, due to a comment made on the program “Amigos do Leão”, shown on his YouTube channel in September 2020
Since the defendant is a first-time defendant and the sentence is less than four years, Judge Roberta Hallage Gondim Teixeira, who handed down the sentence, replaced the deprivation of liberty with restrictive legal measures.
According to the sentence, revealed by the columnist Mônica Bergamo, of the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, the presenter will serve the community for the duration of the sentence and will have to pay a fine five minimum wages, which will be reversed in the purchase of food baskets of basis for social organizations. There is still recourse.
The comment that led to the conviction was made on a 70th anniversary program on Brazilian TV. At the time, Gilberto Barros said that when he worked in Rádio Globo in the 1980s, he had to attend “kisses on the tongue of a mustache” because there was a nightclub for the LGBTQIA + public in front of the venue.
And he concluded: “I have nothing against it, but I also vomit. I am a person, even more who comes from the countryside. Today, if you want to do it in front of me, do it. Take both, but do it”.
The defense of Gilberto Barros confirmed the speech, but said the presenter was embarrassed by the situation, “because he has always used his art or craft to improve the country”.
They also stated that, “because of his Italian blood, he tends to talk a lot”, but “he never intended to incite violence”.
In his decision, the judge states that there was aggression in the words applied, discrimination against homosexuals – which would arouse “disgust” – and that the speech reached the LGBTQIA + community.
“The verbal manifestation of the accused is in line with the practice and induction of discrimination and prejudice due to sexual orientation, and there is no mention of freedom of expression as it does not include hate speech”, reads the sentence of the magistrate.
Gilberto Barros was reported to the Public Prosecutor of San Paolo (MP-SP) by the journalist William De Lucca, activist for the LGBTQIA + cause.
Attorney Dimitri Sales, who represented De Lucca together with fellow attorney Fernanda Nigro in the trial, said in a statement that it is “a very important decision, to protect the rights of the LGBT population, rejecting comments and behaviors that encourage the hatred and violence “.
He says the sentence also strengthens “the decision of the STF [Supremo Tribunal Federal]which elevated the life of this population to a fundamental legal interest when it recognized the practice of homophobia and transphobia as crimes “.
The presenter had already been sentenced on an administrative level by the Secretary of State for Justice and Citizenship of São Paulo.
Source: Terra
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
