Jean Wyllys

Jean Wyllys de Matos Santos (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒeˈɐ̃ ˈwiliz dʒi ˈmatus ˈsɐ̃tus]; born 10 March 1974) is a Brazilian lecturer, journalist and politician who rose to fame after winning the fifth season of Big Brother Brasil. He was also notable as being Brazil's second openly gay member of parliament and the first congressman to be a gay-rights activist. He has been compared to Harvey Milk for his work. In 2019, citing death threats, he resigned from his seat in Congress.

Life

Wyllys was born in Alagoinhas, in the northeastern state of Bahia, one of seven children. His mother was a washerwoman and his father a car painter who suffered from alcoholism. Wyllys attended a boarding school, which gave him the opportunity to get a better education than the average child in his village. Wyllys later moved to Salvador and obtained his bachelor's degree in journalism at the Federal University of Bahia. He first rose to fame after becoming the finalist in the Brazilian reality television show, Big Brother Brasil in its fifth season in 2005. He was the first openly gay participant in the show, which caused controversy amongst fans and participants alike. Wyllys described his victory as being of "great political relevance [...] I said I was a homosexual and I still won the TV show in a country that is homophobic."