Gisele Bundchen Won’t Be Assaulted At The 2016 Summer Olympics As Planned

Just days before the start of the summer Olympics, a skit featuring supermodel Gisele Bundchen has been dropped from the opening ceremony, because audiences at the dress rehearsal reacted negatively to the skit. In the short featurette, Gisele was seemingly assaulted by a local boy, who was, in turn, pursued by what appeared to be uniformed police officers. An organizer for the Olympics opening ceremony says audiences misinterpreted the scene, but the skit featuring Bundchen has been scrapped, nonetheless.

Gisele Bundchen Will Not Be Assaulted In Offensive Skit

Maracanã Stadium was open to thousands of guests who were invited to watch the dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremonies for 2016 summer Olympics, reports Fox News Latino, but spectators were in for a big shock, as they witnessed supermodel Gisele Bundchen get assaulted and pursued in a mock attack. As the skit progressed, the Brazilian boy was chased by what viewers interpreted to be area police officers. Details of the scene were soon leaked online, which led to a cry of outrage by the offended masses.

The creative director for the opening ceremony of the 2016 summer Olympics, filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, says the incident stems from a misunderstanding. Fernando says Ms. Bundchen isn’t being assaulted in the scene. Instead, the Brazilian child seen pursuing Gisele is actually a food vendor hoping to catch a selfie with Ms. Bundchen. Security guards in the area see the interaction and give chase. The scene ends with Gisele Bundchen intervening in the chase to rescue the boy, as the song, “The Girl From Ipanema,” plays.

Unfortunately, the “tremendous misunderstanding,” as Meirelles describes it, has been cut from the summer Olympics opening ceremony altogether.

“It was a gag that was not funny, so we cut it,” Meirelles said. “There was nothing that looked like a robbery in the scene except two security guards chasing after a vendor. They are three professional clowns.”

In summarizing the opening ceremony as a whole, Folha de S. Paulo says that the show will give a glimpse of Brazil’s history, which is to include the pre-colonial era and the arrival of the Portuguese. Bundchen’s scene is said to have been in contrast with the overall message the summer Olympics opening ceremony was trying to convey. In an interview with the Rio 2016 Olympics website, Mr. Meirelles says he hopes the opening ceremony will serve to invigorate the Brazilian people and pull them out of a collective depression.

“Brazilians can look at it and say we are a cool people, we are different ethnic groups, we live together, we never went to war, we are peaceful, we know how to enjoy life and we tend to be happy,” says the Summer Olympics creative director. “I am prepared for the haters.”

Gisele Bundchen Would Have Abandoned Retirement To Be Assaulted At The 2016 Summer Olympics

According to Us Weekly, Ms. Bundchen retired from modeling last year, but the runway model was willing and eager to return to the spotlight for her skit in the 2016 Summer Olympics, which are to take place in Rio De Janeiro. While some participants in this year’s summer Olympics are pulling out, fearing a Zika virus outbreak in that area of Brazil, Bundchen was only too happy to support the Olympics and the city. As a native of Brazil, Bundchen was especially proud to be involved in the opening ceremony.

Gisele, who hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and began her fashion model career there at age 14, announced her retirement in her hometown, during last year’s Sao Paulo Fashion Week.

“I am grateful that at 14, I was given the opportunity to start this journey,” Ms. Bundchen announced in an Instagram post. “Today after 20 years in the industry, it is a privilege to be doing my last fashion show by choice and yet still be working in other facets of the business.”

[Photo by Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images]