I don’t hire “black, fat, petista, feminist and fagot”, says hairdresser accused of discrimination

An audio with racist, homophobic and sexist messages from the hairdresser Diego Beserra Ernesto has gone viral on social networks in recent days.

In the message, Diego says he does not hire “fat, PT, black, feminist and fagot”. The sentence was said to a professional colleague who wanted to hire a black, fat and short-haired assistant. The defense claims the conversation was taken out of context.

The material was received by hairdresser Jeferson Dornelas on January 12th. He explains that he rented part of Diego’s salon, in the neighborhood of Perdizes, in the west zone of São Paulo, where he served clients.

Jeferson intended to hire a black assistant, fat and with short hair, but she declined the offer.

In a WhatsApp conversation, Diego would have reacted to the assistant’s resignation. “I said that the girl would not work anymore [porque] she received another proposal. The answer was this audio”. He said that the hairdresser had already given evidence of this behavior, but never verbalized in this way.

In the audio, Diego says: “I made a rule ‘for’ me. I don’t hire fat, petista and I don’t hire black. In the case of blacks, some pretend to be victims of society. In the case of women, there are two things. Fat and black. She doesn’t even take care of her own body. How will she take responsibility in life? These girls who wear short hair are [sic] feminist. We don’t know. I don’t know. I’m not ‘generalizing’, saying that all are, but it has a high probability of being a feminist. Feminist sucks bro! You can’t say anything. Forgot to mention, bro. I don’t contract anymore. Only if the person is lying.”

Jeferson filed a police report. “My psychology is very shaken. It is very sad to hear such a thing, ”he says. He was approached by Diego asking for a settlement of the case and saying that he would be willing to retract.

The accused hairdresser has at least two profiles on social networks with thousands of followers. After the circulation of the audios, the networks were closed.

Human rights activist Antonio Isuperio investigated and publicized the occurrence. For him, the attitude was “criminal and it is very symbolic, because it is what we always knew happened, but we were never believed”. Isuperio disclosed the incident and formally filed a complaint with the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Jeferson Dornelas will testify at the Police Station for Racial Crimes and Intolerance Intolerance, in São Paulo.

He claims that he only intends to continue the criminal action, with no intention of compensation. A CNN awaits answers on the case from the Public Ministry, Civil Police of São Paulo.

The woman mentioned in the conversation is Ana Carolina Alves de Souza. She was at the salon days before and did a work test with Jeferson.

Diego was spot on. Ana says that she felt embarrassed with “the face he made looking at me, as if I was bothering him by being in his space”.

She claims that she found out about the conversation after the repercussions on the internet and that she will file a police report against Diego Beserra. Ana says she is “devastated, sad and unresponsive”. “Devastated for being judged by the color of my skin, my hair, my body and discredited me as a woman”.

According to the law that typifies crimes of discrimination and racial prejudice, updated in 2023, the situation can be a crime for “denying or preventing employment in a private company”.

The text provides that the judge in the case must consider discriminatory any attitude or treatment given to the person or to minority groups that causes embarrassment, humiliation, shame, fear or undue exposure, and that usually would not be given to other groups due to color, ethnicity , religion or origin.

There is also an understanding of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) on the equation of homophobia with the crime of racism. The penalty can vary, according to the Penal Code, from two to five years of detention. The changes in the law were sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in January, the same year that the WhatsApp messages in this case were exchanged.

What does the defense say?

The report tried to contact Diego Beserra, without success. The defense, however, explained that the audios were taken out of context.

According to the lawyers, in the complete conversation, it would have been Jeferson who started talking about the employee’s appearance and behavior. The legal team also says that not every offense, even if amoral, constitutes a crime.

In the audio, Diego would have shared experiences with other employees in the past. Jeferson denies Diego’s version. The defense explains that Diego has been the victim of incitement to hatred, slander, threats and defamation after the release of the audios.

A second defender explained to the report that he is investigating what happened and that he will manifest himself after becoming aware of every case.