*You may not be familiar with Afro-Brazilian actress Taís Araújo, but she has endured a litany of racist attacks throughout her career in the spotlight in her home country, which makes her relatable to any melanated person who has been subjected to the same treatment from racists.
Araujo is the first black star of a Brazilian telenovela in history, with the role of “Xica da Silva” in 1996, when she was 17. As TheGrio notes, her fame and influence hasn’t been enough to shield her from the country’s “historical marginalization of its more than 100 million Afro-Brazilians.”
Araújo’s social media page came under seize by ignorant Internet trolls and racists after she posted a picture of herself on Facebook. The hatred and attacks on her beauty prompted a global response after such vile comments were posted on the photo below:
“who posted the picture of this gorilla on Facebook,” “how someone can find beautiful that hair,” “lend me your hair I wash dishes,” and “I did not know that zoo has camera.”
Araujo are her husband are considered the most famous black actors in Brazil, which has led many around the country to rally in her defense by using the hashtag #SomosTodosTaísAraújo (#WeAreAllTaísAraújo) to support the artist. She and her husband, Lázaro Ramos, are the only black couple on Brazilian TV, and they recently debuted a series on TV Globo called “Mr. Brown,” which was inspired by entertainment duo Beyoncé and Jay Z.
When Araujo saw the racist comments on her page, she wrote:
“I will not delete any of these reviews. I insist that everyone feels the same as I felt: shame to still have cowardly and little people in this country, besides feeling sorry for the people so poor in spirit. I will not bully me, either, bow your head. ”
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