Anitta defends her Afro-Brazilian faith after new music video costs her some followers

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s biggest pop star Anitta released a music video depicting rituals from the Afro-Brazilian faith Candomblé, sparking controversy in a country where religious intolerance is all too common.

Their song, called “Accept,” has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube since its release on Tuesday. This is a rare personal offering from the artist, who has practiced this religion for a long time in Rio de Janeiro. Anitta said that she lost 200,000 of her 65 million followers on Instagram after she launched it.

“I have already spoken about my religion countless times, but it seems that leaving an artistic work in my catalog forever was too much for those who do not accept that others think differently,” Anitta said on social media on Tuesday. The trolls mocking Candomblé seemed vastly outnumbered by those expressing support.

Criticism from a minority of social media users continued overnight, and she issued another statement Wednesday to denounce misinformation and jokes targeting Afro-Brazilian religions.

“Its teachings and its people deserve respect like any other religion,” Anitta said.

Filmed in black and white, the video shows Anitta crouching naked while a priestess in traditional white dress pours purifying water over her head. In some scenes, she wears a straw dress that resembles the one she wears from head to toe Obaluaê, the orixá or deity of earth and health. The video also featured Catholic iconography, an evangelical Christian service, and a Jewish worshiper wearing a tefillin.

When Portuguese Catholic settlers brought African slaves to Brazil, enslaved men and women developed syncretic blends of their traditional religions with Catholicism, now practiced by a small minority of Brazilians.

Anitta was already known for uplifting marginalized populations such as women, residents of working-class neighborhoods known as favelas, as well as LGBTQ+ and black people.

The pop star has a subversive side similar to that of Madonna, said Raquel Martins, a doctor in music from Unicamp University. Anitta and Madonna released a song together in 2019 and also briefly shared the stage during Madonna’s biggest concert that took place in Rio on May 4. The show repeatedly invoked religion in provocative ways and Anitta, while on stage, wore a glowing crucifix around her. her neck.

“Anitta is a world-renowned artist. She no longer needs to prove anything to anyone. So what does she do? She makes her art available to encourage debate in society,” Martins said.

Despite their low numbers, practitioners of Afro-Brazilian religions have in recent years increasingly experienced religious intolerance, particularly at the hands of members of evangelical churches.

“Accept” is from Anitta’s new album, “Funk Generation.” When she first announced it, Anitta described it as “an album where I celebrate my roots.”

“It is a rhythm born in the favelas, where I grew up, and it exudes resistance and art in each community,” he said in a statement.