Rita Lee 's career is marked by rebellion and resistance against authoritarianism. Fiercely censored by the dictatorship and even imprisoned during this nefarious period in Brazil's history, the greatest representative of Brazilian rock did not change her stance over time. In 2012, at what was supposed to be her last concert, she was detained for defending fans from brutal police approaches in the audience.
This controversial moment, which divided public opinion at the time, occurred during Rita Lee's show at the Sergipe Summer Festival in Aracaju on January 28th. The artist had announced her retirement from the stage a few days earlier when she performed at the event, which was initially planned as her last show.
Then 64 years old, Rita interrupted the show upon noticing a movement of military police in the audience, whose estimated crowd was 20,000 people. The action was supposedly to apprehend fans who were allegedly smoking marijuana, but the approaches were heavy-handed and unnecessary, as the singer promptly denounced.
“You have no right to use force on kids who aren’t doing anything! Where’s the person in charge? I want to speak. I have the right, this show is mine, not yours. This show is my farewell to the stage and you still have to protect people, not assault them, you dogs! Poor dogs… Scoundrels!”, Rita Lee shouted on stage . “I’m from the time of the dictatorship, do you think I’m afraid?”
At the time, the police officers were called "horses" and "sons of bitches" by the singer, who was outraged by their actions. In total, the show was stopped for more than five minutes while Rita Lee argued with the police force present at the event, who formed a cordon in the middle of the audience.
"It can't be, [all this] because of a little joint? Is that it? Where's the joint so I can smoke it now? They're not coming to get me! Come here, cats, kittens! Oh, go away, no, no," he mocked before asking for "a round of boos" for the police officers.
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The police filed a police report against the singer, accusing her of contempt of authority and inciting crime. Summoned to give explanations to the Military Police Internal Affairs Department at 9 am the following day, the singer refused and was taken to the police station.
According to Correio Braziliense , Rita Lee stated in her testimony that "everything that happened was an emotional reaction, provoked by the unnecessary and brutal actions of the military police."
The military police officers present at the show filed a lawsuit against the singer for contempt of court. In 2013, Rita Lee was ordered to pay compensation for moral damages caused to several people involved in the incident. According to G1 , by August of that year, 35 police officers had sued the singer, who was ordered to pay compensation to seven of them.
In a statement, Rita's press office explained some details of the lawsuits that were still ongoing at the time. "40 military police officers from Sergipe filed lawsuits seeking compensation from Rita Lee, totaling 42 cases (some of them are class action lawsuits). Rita Lee won 17 cases, lost 20, and the others are still pending. Although she expressed herself strongly during the show, her only intention was to defend the public from the aggressive actions of certain police officers, without intending to offend anyone," they stated .
The farewell to the stage was postponed. After the show in Sergipe, Rita Lee announced a tour commemorating 50 years of her career, and her last concert took place on São Paulo's anniversary, in a historic performance at Vale do Anhangabaú, on January 25, 2013.
Relive scenes from the memorable final episode of Rita Lee's stage career.
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