In a recent interview with Associated Pressthe Brazilian artist Anitta revealed that he lost more than 300,000 followers on social networks after the publication of the video for his song “Aceita.” The video clip, which includes images of the singer practicing her Afro-Brazilian religion, Candomblégenerated controversy and attacks on her.
“I always knew this was going to happen because people have a lot of prejudices, but I honestly don’t care. I’m in a phase of my life where I couldn’t care less what people think, and even more so. [con] the next situation,” he declared.
The “Envolver” singer stated that she prefers to have fewer followers who are “incredible people with whom I can vibrate and have energy” than a large number of people who judge her.
The aforementioned clip features images from various religions, including a Christian service, a Jewish worshiper wearing tefillin, Catholic iconography, and a clip of Anitta wearing a dress resembling Obaluáe, the deity of earth and health in Candomblé.
In the release statement for her recent album Funk Generation, she wrote that Brazil is “a country with several identities. Accepting it is being tolerant, respectful and kind. The album has to do with this Brazilian identity that inspired me to become an artist. And our religious diversity is part of it.”
Earlier this month, the singer-songwriter addressed the controversy in a social media post writing, “I’ve talked about my religion countless times before, but it seems like leaving an artistic work in my catalog was too much for those who don’t accept others thinking.” different”.
Despite seeing her number of followers reduced, Anitta does not regret sharing her beliefs with the world and continues to defend her freedom of expression and religious tolerance. “That does not matter to me. I used to care how many likes, views and streams. Nowadays I just want to be happy with what I do, so I don’t care,” he added.
Anitta is one of the most popular artists in Brazil and Latin America, known for her infectious music and messages of female empowerment. She achieved fame after the viralization of her song “Envolver”, which was part of her fifth album. Versions of Me. Recently, she revealed that this stage was an experience that led her to think about retiring from music.
“I didn’t feel happy. I no longer had energy. I paid too much attention to sales figures, I read what they said on the Internet and critics. And after having thought so much about what my life would be like if I resigned, or if I died, my priorities changed,” she confessed to Variety.
Born and raised in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the artist had already achieved a prominent place in Brazilian music since her self-titled debut album in 2013. Versions of Me It was his recording work with which he intended to establish himself in the American market, and that was the case.
But despite receiving a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and achieving success, he expressed dissatisfaction with the album’s mixed reception and the complications he faced during its production. The album lost strength by trying to have “something for everyone,” which represented a setback in the Brazilian’s career.
Anitta suffered another setback when a mystery illness affected her with chronic pain and fevers for months. She was tested for cancer and other autoimmune diseases, but she claims she still doesn’t have a clear diagnosis of what happened to her.
“I thought I was going to die. And if I died, I wanted to leave a work that represented me and the sounds I like. He had already had ‘the hits’; According to the numbers he had already done it. Death and not knowing what tomorrow will bring makes me feel more alive. Now I want to try something that makes me feel like an artist again.” he concluded about his change of focus towards Brazilian funk.
