Olympics Scrap Plans to ‘Assault’ Gisele Bundchen During Opening Ceremony

As if actual crime wasn’t enough of a problem in Rio leading up to the Olympic Games, a dress rehearsal of Friday’s Opening Ceremony reportedly included a sketch in which it appeared that Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen was being assaulted by a young black kid.

The performance shocked audience members, one of whom told The Washington Post “It’s totally unacceptable. It’s got to be dropped.”

It now appears it will be. Brazilian newspaper O Globo is reporting that the scene will be changed.

Film director Fernando Meirelles — whose body of work includes City of God and The Constant Gardner — is the creative director of the Opening Ceremony. He conceptualized the scene, and told The Washington Post he felt it had been misinterpreted — saying that the “robber” was actually a food vendor looking for a quick selfie with the model.

“I’m not that clueless,” the director said.

Still, based on the reaction, the change is undoubtedly a good idea.

[image via shutterstock]

–

Follow Joe DePaolo (@joe_depaolo) on Twitter

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!