Brasilia, March 7 (RHC)-- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tweeted a video of carnival, using it to defame the festival and to once again diminish the LGBT community.  Many are now calling for his impeachment.
 
Brazil’s carnival, one of the biggest street festivals in the world, is known for its uniquely lavish celebration.  This year became known for protests against the country’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro while also paying homage to wrongly imprisoned former President Lula da Silva and murdered activist Marielle Franco.

The criticism of Bolsonaro apparently did not sit well with the president.  He lashed out at the celebrations by posting a sexually explicit video to discredit them.  His tweet was then criticized widely by people slamming him for posting what many interpreted as hate speech against the LGBT community.

Many also believed it to be a way for Bolsonaro to delegitimize protests against him.  The multitude of Brazilians tweeting against him created a worldwide trend on the platform under a hashtag calling for Bolsonaro’s impeachment after his outrageous tweet.  Some called it pornographic, while others called it a debasement of the office of the president.

The video posted by the Brazilian president shows three people dancing on a rooftop and culminates with one man urinating on another.  It isn't clear if they are performers or just revelers.  Bolsonaro tweeted the video saying he had to "expose the truth so the people are aware of their priorities."  He said: "This is what Brazilian carnival street parties have turned into."

Brazilians lashed out against the tweet while referring to the video as a “golden shower” scene, to which Bolsonaro replied: “What is a golden shower?”  One commenter noted that the Brazilian president chose to ignore the beautiful, creative spirit of Carnaval.  Brazilian TV presenter Astrid Fontenelle wrote on Twitter: "I saw so many beautiful things at this carnival.  Then I see this on Twitter from the president of our republic!"

Bolsonaro received sharp rebukes from social media users who said it was totally irresponsible of the Brazilian president to share such a graphic video on Twitter, where many children could see it.  Others accused Bolsonaro of lashing out at the festival because many attendees were protesting his presidency.

Many, though, were more concerned with his follow-up tweet posted some 12 hours later, which asked: “What is a golden shower?” despite the fact that the video he shared shows a golden shower.  Much of the world became more familiar with the term in the wake of reports of Trump’s “pee tape.”