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Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Posts Obscene Carnival Video, Stirs Anger

Many, including his supporters, sharply criticized the decision to post the graphic video

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is stirring outrage after sharing a graphic video on Twitter that shows one man urinating on another.

Bolsonaro posted the video Tuesday night criticizing Carnival. Many conservatives in Latin America's largest nation detest Carnival celebrations, seeing them as heathen.

The far-right president himself was one of the main targets of revelers' mockery during Carnival.

Bolsonaro's post included video of a street party in the southern city of São Paulo which a man touches himself sexually and then lowers his head while another man urinates on him. 

Bolsonaro wrote, "I feel uncomfortable showing it, but we have to expose the truth" about Carnival. 

According to local reports, the incident occurred at an event that was not a part of any official Carnival blocos, or street parades, that took place around the city. The gathering was organized through a Facebook event

By Wednesday morning, the tweet had garnered more than 35,000 comments. Many, including his supporters, sharply criticized the decision to post the graphic video. 

"It's a shame that the president of Brazil would share this type of thing!! There are more important issues that actually need attention, like femicide that unfortunately is a growing problem here," one Twitter user commented, referring to attacks on women. 

Another wrote, "I'm shocked at your post. It's unbelievable and deplorable that a president doesn't have a notion of the ethics his office requires!" 

The president later asked in a subsequent tweet: "What is golden shower?" The question sparked a surge in Google searches in Brazil for "golden shower meaning," according to Google Trends. In Brazil, the top five trending topics on Twitter were all related to the incident, including the hastags #VergonhaDessePresidente (shame on this president), #goldenshowerpresident, #BolsonaroTemRazao, (Bolsonaro is right) and #ImpeachmentBolsonaro.

While many disapproving users on the social media site threatened to report the video to Twitter for what they believe is imagery that violates the platform's policy on adult content, as of midday Wednesday, the tweet was still visible on his official Twitter account.

Twitter didn't appear to aggree. In an emailed statement to NBC, spokesman Ian Plunkett said the company did not have any comments on Bolsanaro's tweet and noted that "content that contains sensitive material but which does not violate our policies will be marked as such behind an interstitial and down ranked in search results under our safe search feature."   

The 63-year-old former military captain has a long history of sexist, racist and homophobic comments — he implied women who are raped "deserve it" and has said he’d be "incapable of loving a homosexual son," NBC News reported. 

Bolsaonaro has flaunted his distaste for gay men, proclaiming in 2013 that he was "proud" to be homophobic and advocating that parents should "beat the gay" out of their effeminate sons. He also ran on a campaign to end same-sex marriage in Brazil.   

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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