Regina Casé attributes her reputation for being unfriendly to making room for diversity on TV

Presenter Regina Casé, 72, commented on the unfriendly reputation she received and circulated on social media. According to her, criticism regarding her personality behind the camera increased after the prominence of the program "Esquenta!", shown on TV Globo in the 2010s. For her, the protagonism given to black, peripheral and LGBTQIA+ people on television caused a negative reaction from more conservative portions of the audience.

However, she reported that the character Dona Lourdes, played by her in the soap opera "Amor de Mãe", between 2019 and 2020, helped to reduce virtual attacks and "revamped" her reputation as a snob. The character's sweet and welcoming personality made the public see her differently when she returned to drama, since, in soap operas, the character is the one in the spotlight.

"Nowadays, it's softer. When you're in dramaturgy, you're not the one there. I say that Ms. Lourdes helped me a lot. She came to clear my head a little and give me a breather", said the presenter and actress.

In an interview with the program "Sem Censura", shown last Monday (29), she revealed that she is surprised to read comments stating that she treats the public differently away from the cameras. When asked by presenter Murilo Ribeiro about the rejection of "Esquenta!", between 2011 and 2017, she attributed the resistance to the growth of a conservative wave that did not accept the presence of marginalized people in prime time on open TV.

"Nobody knows the names of those people. All the prejudice and hatred, you have to put it in one direction. So, I became a drain on that. It was a very hard period, I admit. It was very violent", she said. "If you take a very cute, blonde gay couple to a nighttime show, it's more palatable. I took, for example, a couple of sugarcane cutters from the backlands, two married women."

"Warm up!" took popular culture from the streets to open TV
TV Globo's auditorium program aired from 2011 to 2017. The production, shown on Sundays, celebrated Brazilian popular culture, such as samba, pagode, funk and characters from the suburbs of big cities. Characters such as street cleaners, LGBT couples, rappers and rural workers shared the stage with the station's stars.

Presented by Regina Casé, the program also had permanent hosts, big names in music such as Arlindo Cruz, Péricles, Xande de Pilares, Mumuzinho and Leandro Sapucahy. Renowned samba players often welcomed friends to join samba circles, such as Zeca Pagodinho, Douglas Silva and Preta Gil.

Character played by Regina Casé in soap opera gets film

Source: CNN