Controversy on the set of ‘Amor à Vida’: Marina Ruy Barbosa will eventually not shave her hair, but her character will be killed

Young Brazilian actress Marina Ruy Barbosa has been recently swept up in a controversy concerning whether she’ll be shaving her hair bald for her role in the prime time telenovela ‘Amor à Vida’. Ruy Barbosa is playing Nicole, a young heiress who discovers that she has cancer and only a few months to live. Although she is reluctant at first, she begins her chemotherapy sessions and starts losing her hair. At this point, according to the original synopsis that was given to Globo, Nicole will decide to shave her hair bald in a dramatic scene. 

However, with only a few days before actually filming it, it was reported that Marina was reluctant about making such a drastic move. Her parents objected to her cutting her hair, and an important hair products company was waiting for her to turn 18 in order to offer her a big advertisement deal for hair products (she turned 18 at the end of June). Since the scene was waiting to be filmed, Marina’s hesitation caused great turmoil on the set of the telenovela and also online, with many viewers voicing their divided opinions over the issue: some supported Marina and commented that she shouldn’t cut all her hair for a secondary character, while others said that it’s a lack of professionalism and that she should be up to the challenge, especially since she reportedly accepted to do it before receiving the role.

The issue was debated in an urgent meeting that was held in the offices of Rede Globo in the presence of directors Mauro Mendonça Filho and Wolf Maya and Marina, who was accompanied by her mother. In the end, the final decision was made in favor of Marina by Manoel Martins, director of entertainment of Rede Globo. He was also the one who had to tell the news to the show’s main writer Walcyr Carrasco, who was oriented to tell that he changed his mind because of the strong public opinion against Marina cutting her hair. He was also instructed to continue writing Nicole’s storyline and not to take measures that might harm Ruy Barbosa’s character.

Nevertheless, the story took another turn as Carrasco decided to kill off Nicole in the novela. Although according to the original synopsis, Nicole is eventually cured from her disease, the character will die already in the next few weeks in a dramatic scene. When Nicole gets married to Thales (Ricardo Tozzi), she’ll suddenly pass away in the church. Betrayed by her husband and best friend Leila (Fernanda Machado), Nicole will return to the telenovela as a ghost, ‘the woman in white’, in order to avenge Leila and Thales. By taking such measures Carrasco made very clear how he felt about Marina’s decision. His reaction was even more emphasized in a scene that will air on July 22nd, in which Nicole will desist from cutting her hair and will say: “I’m a coward. I wasn’t brave enough, Thales. I was afraid of being bald and that you won’t like me anymore.”