BBB 24: It is difficult to classify David’s exclusion as racism, says lawyer

The behavior of the majority of the BBB 24 cast towards app driver Davi Brito, 21, has caught the public’s attention since the first weeks of the reality show. His opponents fought, ignored, cursed, combined votes against him and even threatened the physical integrity of the youngest participant in the edition.

Among those who rose up against him are MC Bin Laden, Vinicius Rodrigues, Rodriguinho, Wanessa Camargo and Yasmin Brunet, all from the Camarote group, made up of celebrities. The Pipocas (anonymous people selected by the production) Lucas Henrique, Giovanna, Juninho and Michel also had tough clashes with the boy.

The Bahian’s rivals in the reality show repeat in chorus that they have “coherent reasons” for acting in this way against him and that this does not constitute persecution. Part of the public, on the other hand, disagrees with this opinion and witnesses the boy’s exclusion. Some even consider the possibility that the participant suffered racism within the BBB. Even Davi’s allies in the house avoided “playing along” with him for fear of being associated with his brother’s movements. This is the case of Alane, Beatriz, Deniziane, Isabelle and Matteus.

A person convicted of the crime of racism in Brazil can serve a sentence of two to five years in prison, in addition to a fine. Violation is non-bailable and also imprescriptible, that is, the complaint can be made at any time, even after decades.

Criminal lawyer Silmara Pereira follows the reality show and considers the case complex. “Davi is a dark black man, due to his phenotypic traits, and is considered by some participants to be aggressive, manipulative and sociopathic. But these offenses were not explicit in relation to the racial issue. This point remains subjective,” he stated.

Administrative director of Anan (National Association of Black Advocacy), Pereira considers that, if Davi decided to file some type of lawsuit, the most obvious path would be, so far, “for a matter of insult or defamation, without the racial part”.

She also noted that the problem experienced by the reality participant is personalized. This characteristic, according to the lawyer, reduces the chances of someone else filing a lawsuit related to the situation suffered by the brother.

Can someone else report it?

No, because it is something “very directed” at David. “If it were a generalized treatment, for example, if a certain participant was excluding all black people in the house, it would probably constitute racism.” In this case, any affected person who watched the scenes could file a lawsuit, explained Pereira.

On the other hand, “nothing prevents the public, black movements, non-governmental organizations from asking the Public Ministry for a Conduct Adjustment Term [ferramenta que tem como objetivo adequar condutas tidas como irregulares pela legislação ou contrárias ao interesse público]”, he pointed out.

To support recent perspectives on racial discrimination, as is the case with the concept of structural racism, Pereira said it is common for experts to rely on previous judicial decisions, so-called jurisprudence.

Another look at the case

Speaker specializing in diversity and creator of anti-racist content Levi Kaique Ferreira said in an interview with F5that there are practices of judicial intimidation regarding the case.

“Lately we have been careful not to say that such a person is being racist. We point out behavior that needs to be corrected and the person tends to file a defamation lawsuit. They forget that before racism is a crime, it is an act”, it says.

The influencer pointed out why the treatment received by Davi was considered discriminatory. “The problem is not isolating the person in a living space, but the justifications given for doing so.” And what would those justifications be?

“With Davi, they are always based on known stereotypes to dehumanize black people. For example, aggressiveness, triggers, sociopathy and narcissism. Behaviors that do not match what is observed on the outside,” he states. “It’s so excessive that even when Davi drank tea during a fight that wasn’t with him, participants said it was a type of manipulation.”

Davi is one of the public’s favorite participants to win the reality show and almost dropped out of the contest after claiming he couldn’t handle being treated with contempt by the house. “They’re taking away my smile and making me be someone I’m not,” he declared, before entering the confessional.

But what if it was all just a problem of coexistence with David? The content creator said that “of course a black person can be unpleasant to be around, just like a white person can be.”

For him, discrimination occurs when the way of judging or adjectivizing characteristics is contaminated with a racist perspective. “The moment we point out racist behavior, or when someone takes a greater look at the mistakes of black people, it doesn’t mean that that person hates black people in general,” he says, adding that this would explain the discriminatory behavior of other black participants, or with black relatives, in relation to David.