Miami: woman breaks work by Brazilian artist Romero Britto for revenge

Romero Britto is a Brazilian artist known worldwide for combining elements of pop art and graffiti in his work. However, the painter and sculptor was caught in a controversy after a video went viral on social media. In fact, we see a woman breaking one of her works to take revenge for an alleged lack of respect towards the employees of the restaurant she owns.

“Some artists lose their humility and gain the disapproval of their admirers. Romero Britto, his big ego and his rudeness pretended to humiliate the family of Tapelia Restaurant in Miami Beach, ”introduced a video posted on the restaurant's Instagram account, which allows us to understand the woman's motivations.

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Romero Britto. Unfair treatment to our staff.

A post shared by Olé Olé And Tapelia (@oleoleandtapelia) on Aug 14, 2020 at 7:56 am PDT

“I own the Tapelia restaurant, which is across from your store,” she said measuredly. My husband came to buy me this piece of art for my birthday, because I had put you on a pedestal and I admired you as an artist. I thought you were a respectable man, but I was wrong, ”she said, raising her voice.

"You have humiliated my staff"

As she spoke more vividly, Romero Britto seemed not to know what it was and even tried to interrupt her to sign the apple-shaped sculpture worth "several thousand dollars" that she was holding. "No, I don't need you to sign anything," she cut him short.

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ART ♥ ️ ♥ ️ ♥ ️ ♥ ️ ♥ ️ ♥ ️ ♥ ️ ♥ ️ ♥ ️ ♥ ️🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋 🦋🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🖼🖼🖼🖼🖼🖼🖼🖼 #RomeroBritto #Britto #Art #HappyArt #HappyArtBritto #Apple # Butterfly #Nature #MixedMedia #Fun #Sculpture #Love @romerobrittogallery

A post shared by Romero BRITTO (@romerobritto) on Aug 14, 2020 at 2:53 pm PDT

"You went to my restaurant, you booked for twenty people, for breakfast for $ 8, which is cheap, and on top of that you asked us for a discount. You humiliated my staff, you asked them to turn off the music, you asked them not to speak. […] It was humiliating. I thought you were a decent and respectable person, but you lacked humility, ”he explained, then ended the act which quickly went viral.

Millions of people have seen the footage

“I demand that you never come to my restaurant again, nor offend my staff, ever again,” she shouted in front of the crowd, who were stunned to see the piece falling apart. “I respected you as an artist,” the woman concludes.

Another video was also posted on the TikTok profile of gallery employee Faye Pindell on August 13 and has so far been viewed by over 2 million people.

Romero Britto was born in Recife, Brazil, and is known in the art world for the striking designs and colors he uses in his works, with which he seeks to convey "hope and happiness".