The gay nephew of a notorious Brazilian homophobe came out as a drag queen. His evangelical pastor mum reacted in the most unexpected way
Lucas Santos made debuted his drag persona, Peridot. (itsperidotx/ Instagram)
The gay son of a famous Brazilian evangelical pastor and nephew of a notoriously homophobic televangelist has revealed his drag persona online, and his mother’s reaction was… surprising.
Lucas Santos made debuted his drag persona, Peridot, via Instagram last week performing a cover of “Love” by Lana Del Rey.
While he received an outpouring of love and support from his followers, many feared his famous family might have a vastly different reaction.
Santos’s uncle is televangelist, pentecostal pastor and notorious homophobe Silas Malafaia.
Malafaia has condemned attempts to protect LGBT+ people in Brazil from discrimination as “a blatant attempt to block freedom of expression”, and previously said he wanted to put “ten thousand gay couples on an island” so that “they’ll disappear”.
In 2012, speaking about LGBT+ Pride events, he said: “The people in the Gay Parade mock the symbols of the Catholic church and no one says anything.
“The Catholic Church should take a stick to these guys, you know? They should lower the club on them.”
Malafaia’s sister-in-law, and Santos’s mother, is Eyshila Santos, a famous Brazilian evangelical pastor and singer.
While she has not been outspoken on LGBT+ issues in the past, her more than three million followers were not prepared for her reaction to her son’s new persona.
The pastor wrote on Instagram: “Our children are an inheritance from the Lord, but they are not our property. They are our children, not our trophies.
“They are ours, but they are independent beings. They are not our continuation, they have their own story, choices and experiences.
Parents, love your children! Love and express it in words and attitudes.
Although she admitted that her son’s identity was not what she would have chosen for him, her message of love was rare for the Brazilian Catholic church.
She continued: “Before being our children, they belong to God. Just as God loves us unconditionally, we LOVE our children too.
“Let us love even without agreeing with their mistakes. Let us love without accepting their choices. Let us love without guilt and without shame.
“After all, whoever loves owes nothing to anyone. No explanations.”
Santos also addressed his mother’s reaction on social media.
According to Globo, he responded to one of his followers saying that he and his mother “love each other very much, despite believing in different things”.
He added: “If she could choose, would she have a gay son? No. If I could choose, would she have an evangelical pastor mother? No.
“But it happened… We continue to love and respect each other.”
