Giovanna Ewbank says she will use white privilege to fight racism

The couple of actors Giovanna Ewbank, 35, and Bruno Gagliasso, 40, spoke for the first time about the racism suffered by their children Titi and Bless, in a restaurant, in Costa da Caparica, Portugal, on Saturday (30). They said, in an interview with Fantástico (Globo), on Sunday (31), that they will use white privilege to fight racism.

Gagliasso said he was at the restaurant with family and friends, while the children played on the beach. Giovanna says that they usually go to the place a lot because they find many black people. “For our children we think it’s very important to be in environments with black people”, said the actress.

The actor says that one of the children told what had happened and he saw the manager asking a woman to leave. Giovanna claims that she only realized that it was something racial when she saw a family of Angolans, of about 15 people, backed away.

At this moment, the couple heard the woman refusing to leave the place, saying loud racial insults, such as “filthy blacks”, “go back to Africa”, “go back to Brazil” and “Portugal is no place for you”. Gagliasso immediately called the police, Giovanna went after the woman and started an argument, which had the video leaked on social media.

The actress believes that the woman never expected a white woman to fight her the way she did. Giovanna stated that she is aware that her speech was validated by her being white, unlike what happens with black mothers who are called crazy and angry every day and still hear that there is no racism. “Would it get all this attention if we were black parents of black children?”, asked the actress.

Excited, Giovanna revealed that it was the first time that her daughter Titi – who has already suffered racism in 2017 – saw her mother fighting racism, which she usually talks to her children, face to face. She said that Titi was very scared because she understood what was happening, but Bless didn’t realize because she was joking.

The actress – who the first time her daughter suffered racism still didn’t know how to deal with the situation – ensures that today she is a woman much more aware of her privileges and lives surrounded by other black women with whom she learns daily. “I will live up to the name white privilege and fight racism head-on.”