Ludmilla’s creative directors issue a statement and explain the show accused of religious intolerance

A part of the video shown at Ludmilla’s show at the Coachella festival was considered prejudiced and went viral on the web last Sunday (21). This Monday (22), the singer and the creative directors of the presentation spoke out and said that the phrase “Only Jesus expels Tranca Rua from people” was put in a different context than the original.

The expression supposedly refers to a phalanx or grouping of Exus, spiritual entities of the Umbanda and Candomblé religions. The creative directors Nídia Aranha and Drica Lara say that the frame was taken out of the context of the video, which had, in fact, precisely a tone of denunciation of social ills.

“The show begins with a very explicit message to end prejudice and hate speech in the voice of one of the most emblematic Brazilian political figures today [A deputada Federal Erika Hilton (PSOL) participou do show]”, write the directors on social media, in a post republished by Ludmilla.

“The images of ‘Queen of the Favela’ are an indictment of what happens in communities in Brazil”, they say, citing social ills: poverty, violence, police abuse, racism, lgbtphobia, hate crimes, intolerance, informal work, homeless people and many others.

The directors claim that the image was misinterpreted by social media: “Many people saw religious intolerance in it. But the image was not there to glorify anything, but to show reality. Religious intolerance against African-based beliefs is a sad reality in our country.”

“To those we offended by the video, our sincerest apologies, even if our intention was to report hate speech, we know that people are affected in different ways. To these people, we ask for forgiveness,” they further said. They also shared the video in full. Watch.