Actress Maite Perroni Defends Controversial Gay Kiss on Mexican Telenovela

Lena Hansen
Updated
First Gay Kiss in Mexican Telenovela

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Maite Perroni, the star of Mexican soap opera Papá a Toda Madre (Televisa), defended a controversial kiss between two male characters on the show. The network’s decision to include a gay scene in the prime time telenovela generated mixed reactions. On social media, some applauded the network’s groundbreaking storyline, while others argued that it was inappropriate and offensive.

One fan tweeted: “Bravo. Love is Love.” Another took a more critical view: “Parents we need to open our eyes about our children’s education because they want to invert our moral values and forcing our kids [and] grandkids to change the natural order that God created since the beginning of the world. Man and woman should form families.”

The ultraconservative organization CitizenGO launched a petition that garnered 25,000 signatures demanding the show be removed from the line up for “normalizing homosexuality.”

@papaatmof no se queda sin contar historias reales con respeto , con amor ,con calidad . Me da mucho orgullo poder ser parte de ese camino y de esta historia q está reflejando lo q vivímos en el día a día en nuestra sociedad, en nuestras familias ??y en esta época donde hay tanto pasando. Por eso me da mucho gusto q podamos ser portavoces del respeto y apoyo a la diversidad a las familias q se forman a base de amor y compromiso sin Importar preferencias sexuales ,dejando atrás los prejuicios , de esta manera podemos realmente ser parte de esta evolución donde al dejarnos ser como somos , quienes somos con amor y responsabilidad podremos dejar de ser parte de la doble moral ... dejemos vivir y ser auténticamente a cada individuo en este ???? lo q está basado en el amor nunca podrá ser algo malo .

A post shared by Maite Perroni Beorlegui (@maitepb) on Nov 14, 2017 at 12:45pm PST

On Nov. 14, Maite Perroni defended the gay scene played by actors Andrés Uno and Raúl Coronado and appealed to the public for greater tolerance via Instagram: “Papá a Toda Madre doesn’t stop telling real stories with respect, with love and quality. I am very proud to be part of this path and of this story that reflects what we live today in our society and our own families,” she wrote.

Some of her fans were not pleased with her support: “I’m so sad about Maite. I have always followed her and she wasn’t like that. Fame has damaged her. She is unrecognizable. She fell off my pedestal.”

#Repost @andyzuno #PapáATM #Familia #actors

A post shared by Papá a Toda Madre (@papaatmof) on Oct 27, 2017 at 8:57pm PDT

¡No te pierdas a #Rafael @AndyZuno en @CuentameloYaOf a partir de la 1:30pm! Nos contará los detalles del GRAN ESTRENO de#PapáATM.

A post shared by Papá a Toda Madre (@papaatmof) on Oct 18, 2017 at 11:32am PDT

The gay characters — one’s a vet, the other’s a detective — are in love and live together and dream of becoming parents one day. In the controversial scene, which airs this week, the same-sex duo share a loving kiss in front of shocked neighbors. Perroni commended the producers for pushing the envelope.

“I’m very glad that we are speaking out for respect and I support the diversity of families that form based on love and compromise no matter what their sexual preferences are, leaving behind prejudices,” she wrote on social media. “Let’s allow every individual on this planet to live and be authentic. Whatever is based on love cannot be bad.”