Daniel Zezza, fiancé of federal deputy Erika Hilton and a trans man, has faced a wave of transphobic attacks on social media following TV host Ratinho's controversial remarks about the lawmaker.
In the ongoing controversy sparked by Ratinho's transphobic statements on his SBT program on March 11, 2026—made in the context of the election for the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies' Commission for the Defense of Women's Rights—photographer and filmmaker Daniel Zezza has become a target of online harassment.
Zezza, who has been in a relationship with Erika Hilton since 2023 and announced their engagement in November 2025, has received offensive messages but has not responded publicly to the attacks.
The incident underscores challenges to Hilton's legitimacy to lead the commission and highlights Brazil's high levels of violence against trans people, where the country leads global rankings in murders of this population, per data from the National Association of Travestis and Transexuais (Antra). Supporters affirm Hilton's representation of trans and indigenous women, echoing her own statement: 'Erika Hilton will always be a woman.'
