Surfer Pedro Scooby was playfully teased by television presenter Luciano Huck on Sunday during his appearance on the dance competition Dança dos Famosos.
The lighthearted exchange on the weekly entertainment programme Domingão com Huck followed a turbulent week for the 38-year-old athlete, who became embroiled in a heated public row with his former wife, 49-year-old actress Luana Piovani, over the care of their children.
Speaking on air, 55-year-old Huck joked that it had been quite a week for his friend, remarking on the intense scrutiny surrounding him. When Scooby replied that the recent days had been emotional, Huck added that not a single day went by without seeing Scooby across global news feeds whenever he looked at his phone.
Huck then offered words of encouragement, wishing the competitor luck, love and peace for himself and his family, while expressing hope that the surfer would keep a clear head and stay grounded.
Social media dispute over child care
The televised exchange addressed a bitter dispute that erupted on social media on Wednesday between Piovani and Scooby regarding two of their children. The confrontation began after Piovani posted images online alleging that the children had arrived at her home without proper care.
Piovani shared images on her Instagram account showing head lice on toilet paper, which she claimed came from their daughter Liz, alongside a video showing an injured leg belonging to their son Bem. In her initial post displaying the lice, Piovani wrote that she hoped her former husband was dancing better than he was caring for his children, remarking that entertaining people was not the same as raising children in a direct reference to his dance rehearsals.
Scooby responded through video stories on his own social media profile, accusing Piovani of exposing the children to public scrutiny on the internet. He explained that Liz had already arrived from Portugal with head lice and insisted that his household had been treating and cleaning her hair.
Scooby stated that it was normal for a few stray lice to remain during treatment. He noted that his daughter Aurora, whom he shares with model Cintia Dicker, and his eldest son Dom had never caught head lice while in Brazil, adding that infestations were a recurring problem in Portugal.
Marriage split and private messages
The feud deepened after Piovani shared a private text conversation between herself and Dicker, who had announced the end of her marriage to Scooby just one day before Wednesday's confrontation. In the message shared online, Dicker wrote to Piovani that the lice had been discovered after Liz had been there for a week, acknowledging that while there were many children in the house, the infestation was significant.
Sharing that exchange, Piovani told Scooby to grow up, pointing out that the children had been staying with him for two months. She told him to stop acting like a stray dog on the roadside, warned that nobody would buy his excuses, told him to remain quiet because he would always lose the argument, and urged him to practice fatherhood.
Scooby, who rose to prominence as a big-wave surfer before appearing on the reality television programme Big Brother Brasil, has been performing on Dança dos Famosos, the long-running celebrity contest broadcast on Sunday afternoons by Brazil's TV Globo network.
