In autobiography, Preta Gil reveals resentment with Silvio Santos: ‘He called me fat, ugly, a liar’

Preta Gil, 50, spoke out about her controversial participation in the Silvio Santos Program in 2018. In her book “Os Primeiros 50”, released last week in São Paulo, Preta reveals that she was offended by the presenter, who died last Saturday (17), and that she left SBT crying. Silvio’s most serious statements, however, were reportedly cut by the program’s editors.

“Silvio Santos’ production team invited me to the program several times. In 2018, I agreed to do it, because it would be with David Brazil. But, on that stage, everything started to go wrong”, says Preta in the book.

She says that, faced with the insults she heard, she was paralyzed and could not respond or leave. “It was genuine pain. I was not prepared for that. He asked me how I had ‘gotten a husband’. Today, I regret not having left the stage. But I did not have the strength. I had a feeling that I imagine is a little similar to that described by women who suffer physical or verbal violence”, she says.

“I was getting dizzy, I was letting him hit me. And Silvio started talking about my weight. And that was all I could think about, that if I opened my mouth, I would start crying and end up looking like the crazy woman in the story. Which, let’s face it, was a bit of what happened, after all, he aired the program and took out the whole part where he verbally attacked me,” she says.

“When I left the show crying, in tears, the director was visibly upset with me. ‘What a shame you didn’t take it as a joke. What a shame you didn’t have a sense of humor.’ And how can you have a sense of humor? He called me fat, ugly, a liar. He even questioned the audience about my trio. As soon as I left the studio, a note appeared on the internet, saying that I had left the studio in tears,” she recalls.

“At the time, I still considered Silvio to be untouchable, a respectable guy, and I tried to understand the prejudices he had. So, I was disappointed. This is the first time I’ve spoken so openly about this episode. I’ve always protected Silvio from countless rudeness and fatphobia. But I can’t stay silent. It only hurts me.”