Xuxa loses case against former PL deputy who associated her book with pedophilia

Presenter Xuxa Meneghel lost a case she had filed against former deputy and pre-candidate for councilor for Rio de Janeiro, Rosane Felix (PL-RJ). The action was rejected by the 40th Civil Court of Rio de Janeiro. The information is from the newspaper The globe.

When going to court, the presenter wanted compensation for moral damages worth R$150,000 after Rosane associated the book Maya: rainbow babywritten by the presenter with the story of a newborn who has two mothers, associating it with pedophilia and sexual exploitation.

The case happened in 2020, when the then deputy at the time presented a motion to repudiate the book, in the plenary of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj).

“Pedophilia and child sexual exploitation are not enough? What else are these people wanting? They need to leave our children alone. We will not allow children’s innocence to be affected by this type of thing”, said the state deputy, according to registration on the Alerj website.

For the Court, the former parliamentarian’s statements were not an offense to Xuxa, but a “expression of critical opinion”. “This is a manifestation of a critical opinion regarding a literary work, not going beyond the regular exercise of freedom of expression, so that it is not capable of generating a duty to compensate”, says an excerpt from the decision, published by The globe.

On social media, Rosane Félix celebrated the court’s decision and highlighted that the “Judiciary recognized that the criticism I made of Xuxa Meneghel’s book was based on my freedom of expression, as well as on the exercise of my mandate as a parliamentarian”.

“In 2022, I was sued for R$150 thousand by the presenter Xuxa Meneghel for giving my opinion contrary to the publication of a children’s book, whose content was an apology, that is, an praise, an appreciation of same-sex union. And my outrage was:
Why raise this issue more in our children? We need to leave them alone! They need to play! “, wrote the candidate.

The presenter has not yet commented on the court’s decision. Having lost the case, Xuxa will have to pay the costs of the case and the fees of Rosane’s defense lawyers.