Writer Isabela Figueiredo became the center of one of the biggest controversies of the week after harshly criticizing RTP’s “The Right Price” program, classifying it as a format with “zero cultural value” and which “is no longer justified”. His statements, published in an opinion article in the Expresso newspaper, triggered a wave of indignation on social media and divided opinions between public figures and the general public.
In the text, the author, winner of the Urbano Tavares Rodrigues Prize, stated that she could not stand “the mess” of the program and questioned why taxpayers continued to finance the format. “It was always bad, it stopped in time and has zero cultural value. Why are we financing nullity with our taxes?”, he wrote, suggesting that RTP should replace it with “a music and theater program to entertain before dinner”.
The criticism did not go unnoticed. Hundreds of users reacted on social media, accusing the writer of elitism and lack of respect for popular tastes. Comments such as “The ignorance of those who think they are superior”, “Opinion of the bacoque elite” and “You missed a great opportunity to be silent” multiplied in a few hours.
Among the well-known faces who intervened in the discussion was the writer Pedro Chagas Freitas, who defended cultural diversity and the different tastes of the public. “I’m from the country. I love Isabela Figueiredo’s books. I admire ‘Preço Certo’. I go to the theater. I watch football. I listen to classical music. I eat bread with chorizo. I watch ‘Big Brother’. I love Herberto Helder. We are not all one thing”, he wrote on his social networks.
Joana Amaral Dias also spoke out, accusing Isabela Figueiredo of “the sad snobbery of those who think the people are something lesser”. In a video shared on social media, he defended the program as “the real Portugal, of laughter, sharing and authenticity”, stressing that “what bothers certain intellectuals is not the noise of the people, it is the fact that they exist, happy, free and without asking for permission”.
Chronicler Luís Osório, in one of his “Postcards of the Day”, highlighted the role of presenter Fernando Mendes, remembering that “for more than 40 years he has embraced the most humble Portuguese, those who have had the fewest hugs in their lives”.
Faced with the strong public reaction, Isabela Figueiredo spoke again on social media, defending her position and addressing those who criticized her opinion as “supreme and proud ignorant people unaware of their ignorance”. He also reiterated his view of the program: “What is it for? What can you learn? Nothing. Not even the prices, which change every day.”
The debate, which began with a simple chronicle, ended up transforming into a portrait of the division between popular taste and the intellectual vision of culture, reigniting the eternal discussion about the role of public television and the concept of “public service” in Portugal.
