Brazilian actor Amaury Lorenzo comes out: ‘How can I not be in this fight?’
Brazilian telenovela star Amaury Lorenzo received death threats over a same-sex TV kiss. (Instagram/@amaurylorenzo)
Brazilian soap opera star Amaury Lorenzo has come out publicly as part of the LGBTQ+ community in a new interview alongside gay co-star Diego Martins.
Lorenzo is best known for his role in popular telenovela Terra e Paixão, playing the closeted queer cowboy Ramiro, who must grapple with internalised homophobia after falling for out and proud Kelvin (Martins).
As the stakes for their forbidden onscreen romance grow ever higher, the actors have fast become become Brazilian telenovela royalty, with an avid fanbase obsessed with their good looks and the entire LGBTQ+ community rooting for their romance on and offscreen.
While discussing the fan-favourite love story and importance of explicit gay storylines in an Extra interview, Lorenzo was asked if he identified as part of the community, to which he responded: “Of course I do!”
“I consider myself an LGBTQIA+ man,” he continued. “It may be that soon I will marry another man, cis or trans, a woman, cis or trans… I know that the public is curious to know about my sexuality. I have no problem with that. The only issue is when the subject comes above my work as an actor.”
Despite his reservations to discuss the topic further, he explained why speaking up for the LGBTQ+ community was so important, given the concerning state of LGBTQ+ rights across the globe
“I’m a theater teacher and I had three students murdered for being LGBTQIA+”, he shared.
“One was killed by his father. I welcomed a friend into my home who was beaten for being with another man on the street. I’ve had former students expelled by evangelical parents for being gay. How can I not be in this fight?”
In August, Brazil’s High Court ruled that homophobic hate speech is a crime equivalent to racism in a major win for LGBTQ+ activist groups.
According to Lorenzo, he will be joining a local Pride parade, joking: “They invited me to be the king, but I can swap with Diego and be the queen.”
His co-star Martins, who came out as gay earlier in life, told the publication his sexuality “was never an issue at home” as he had many lesbian and gay relatives.
Outside Terra e Paixão, Martins has gained notoriety as a drag queen and famously won season one of Queen Stars, where 20 queens battle it out to win a spot in the country’s newest drag trio.
Later in the interview, Lorenzo opened up about the prejudice he faced growing up for dancing classical ballet. During one hateful incident he was called the F-slur before being shot with a pellet gun.
Homophobia is also something Martins has faced during his life, especially within the arts industry. As he added: “I have always feared suffering prejudice and losing work because of who I am.
“Anyone who puts their face forward and says ‘I’m gay’ runs the risk of not being accepted, no matter how talented they are. But I had no other choice, and I didn’t want to. I prioritise who I am and my freedom.”
