Brazilian Instagram influencer and ex-model jailed for trafficking and slavery | BBC News

Former Brazilian model, wellness influencer and spiritual life coach Kat Torres was an inspiration and a lifeline to women all over the world.
More than a million people on Instagram followed her extraordinary career trajectory from extreme poverty in Brazil to a European modelling career and a life of luxury in the US.
But behind the perfectly curated posts is a story of sexual exploitation and human trafficking that led to missing women and sent their families and the FBI on a desperate search to find them.
After months of investigations, a team from BBC Eye and BBC News Brasil uncovers a wellness empire built on half-truths and lies.
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#KatTorres #Brazil #BBCNews

[@Tolpuddle581]

Red flag when I see 'Influencer' 'Wellness' 'Life coach' always a scam or worse.

[@user-bl4gb4ms3g]

So true.

[@user-bl4gb4ms3g]

And “spiritual “

[@musicaldramaqueen]

I would trust a wellness or life coach in person. I had a life coach like 10 years ago who was a friend, she helped me sort out my priorities. But I'd never do any of these with someone online. Yikes. Yeah, all those words, if they are paired with "influencer". Double yikes!

[@Tolpuddle581]

@@musicaldramaqueen You got lucky your friend had a genuine desire to help you. What concerns me is literally anyone can call themselves a 'life coach' or a 'wellness' guru, Gwyneth Paltrow has made a fortune with her 'Goop" empire selling 'wellness' to suckers who buy into the sales pitch. I recently found an old schoolfriend from the UK who now describes herself as a 'life coach' I know she did study journalism does that make her a life coach I don't think so. I see these people as possibly well meaning but no more qualified than a close friend who you you could have chat with. It's an area wide open for fraudsters to exploit on social media.

[@andrelopez2514]

yep totally

[@LaraBonczek]

I will never understand how anyone can worship an influencer

[@paulos9900]

They see someone living an idealised life and want to have it too.

[@reezdog]

Also people are lonely and when they show you attention it has a way of influencing you.

[@LaraBonczek]

@@paulos9900 but everyone knows Instagram is fake. It’s an illusion they try to sell

[@LaraBonczek]

@@reezdog especially when you are very young. Parents check on your children and make sure they go out and have actual friends and conversations

[@BondJFK]

Well it's like people worship human god

[@DragonNo1]

Kat Torres is a sociopath.

[@MoonLilly92]

Absolutely!

[@user-bl4gb4ms3g]

And narcissist.

[@BeatrizMarques80]

In the Brazilian BBC’s version of it she gaslight when talked about the girls she kept as slaves and said “run to your mommy and daddy, isn’t that what they wanted? Old girls that want their parents ew”…. She even threatened the reporter at the end saying that they will see that she’s powerful.

[@Tolpuddle581]

@@BeatrizMarques80 I guess the scary part is these 'influencers' actually believe they're important or relevant. In fact as others have observed she's a malignant narcissist and quite possibly a psychopath.

[@wmhhealth2018]

Or psychopath

[@filipeeeeeeeee5615]

There’s a famous Brazilian soap opera called Salve Jorge, the tells the story of Brazilian women that were trafficked to turkey. It’s always the same, usually the trafficker is a woman herself, she tells the other women, usually beautiful, but vulnerable, that she could change their lifes with work outside Brazil, but the work usually turns out to be prostitution when the get there, and there’s no way out. It’s definitely a problem international organisations need to intervene

[@sleepygoblin87]

It's so scary how common this is.

[@silentmajority8365]

@@sleepygoblin87 Death penalty for trafficking

[@andrewjones-productions]

The interview with Kat Torres in the jail showed that without the fancy clothes, the elaborate photography and good use of light, that Torres is in fact quite plain and ordinary in appearance. If anything, she looked a mess with her lipstick slapped haphazardly rather than being applied as one would expect from someone glamorous and a former model and beauty pageant contestant. More than anything, it clearly shows the power of social media and carefully selected photographs used to deceive, lead and create a false impression and narrative when the various platforms are abused.

[@monaminas]

💯👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@monaminas]

The documentary is much longer, for about an hour. You were on point with your observations.

[@gabrieleruediger957]

For América, perhaps she is blaze, but the "white" kind of looks it is waaaaay praised in Brazil; it is getting better and brazilians are giving more value to their own, but it's prevails and it was a lot stronger when Kat was a young woman. People in brazil usually link blond green/blue eyes tall people to success

[@Krytern]

​@gabrieleruediger957 She isn't tall though

[@MrUppertorso]

Also her cosmetic surgery really needs a touch up and chances are the prison medic isn’t gonna have the means to fix that for her. Or perhaps the evil inside is simply starting to leak through her pores.

[@shaheenbhoola]

Tragic exploitation of the weak , gullible and vulnerable.

[@George-ky4wf]

Happens ALL the time EVERYWHERE, .. in many industries.

[@EziekKiel]

Yeah, it's so horrible what some people are capable of doing to another human being.

[@BondJFK]

Started since colonisation era

[@ariatamar2706]

Exactly. Appeal of easy money. Had these girls been trained to believe in hard work and careers, they wouldn't have fallen into such traps. :(

[@radicalrick9587]

*Sadly, this goes on all over the world. This is just one grain of sand in a sea of it.*

[@Haplo-san]

Everywhere around the world, instagram influencers goes to jail for this and that reasons. 25 years ago, these people would have called "cult leader" not a "influencer" and their followers were cultists.

[@shonen84]

Thanks BBC for this investigation. Awful, horrendous.

[@iamdmc]

an influencer is a terrible person? what a shock

[@sleepygoblin87]

My heart goes out to victims of human trafficking. It's something I think about a lot.

[@NatalieChickee]

Narcissistic sociopath or psychopath don’t idol worship people

[@EziekKiel]

I hope those women are doing okay now😟

[@Tango771]

How does being attractive make you in any way qualified to be a life coach? 😂

[@LucienneDURU]

It's just the beauty privilege, making you more believable to many people just because you look "good" (beauty is a relative concept)...

[@jessiesprinkleberries]

She's neither attractive nor pretty 😅

[@Lilih654]

She is not even close to be beautiful without her instagram makeup and filters

[@caterra-]

Her lip liner is annoying me

[@josweetlove1537]

Her eye liner is annoying.

[@caterra-]

@@josweetlove1537 all that free time in jail and she can’t even do her makeup properly

[@user-oe3on2xf2s]

@@caterra- I guess she doesn't have access to cosmetics

[@silentmajority8365]

Tip of the iceberg Trafficking is across media tech industry and Government

[@natsdaley9615]

Beware of fake prophets 😢

[@martinvannostrand8488]

5:28 ok having an actress read it as a voiceover is one thing, but having the actress on camera, as if she’s the actual person, is very very strange

[@GSAlchemy]

Please, please, please don’t idolize these people with elevated platforms. Place no one on a pedestal. You are just as worthy and can also achieve great things. Keep the focus on your growth and leave anything and anyone that feels strange, controlling, or weird.

[@DaianeSpranger]

Thanks!

[@iricandescence]

I just realized this is a clip from a full length documentary (55 mins) from BBC World Service, you guys can easily find it also if you're interested!

[@Mia-cc9bm]

Why do I get the feeling she's a part of a bigger group

[@valentina-blossom]

Me too. I think she might've been a victim too but I'm not sure.

[@magicdolphin3090]

because they ALWAYS are. these people are not smart, but they are crafty and will do what it takes to keep operating. oh honey, the amount of stuff that goes on that we would be appalled by. we just cant see it. humans need to be controlled.

[@brianquigley1940]

Weight loss, badly applied makeup, denial of reality, accepting an interview with a foreign TV channel... Is Torres taking drugs in that prison?

[@San-yf3xf]

She is

[@tkatrich3]

I'm guessing that she was forced to use "prison makeup" so just whatever crap they can make into makeup, no Sephora or MAC in jail. She would have been wiser to wear none.

[@MollyGordon]

I understand the decision to use voice actors to read/reenact the victim's statements. However staging those voice actors as if they are reality TV performers having a cozy convo with producers implies they are the actual victims. Yes, I am aware of the stack of ironies that have piled up behind me. Anyway, I call bullshit. You do not need a physical actor to perform an interview when you can use photos, graphics, and voice-over. Your choice reveals weaknesses in your editorial probity.

[@J-sw6mt]

Yeah that was weird, never seen that before

[@StinsonSwarley]

This is what you care? You wached the video and THIS is what you consider important mentioning? For real?

[@SquakingOfTheCrows]

​@@StinsonSwarley Ew, chill tf out

[@marilyncausey9348]

I agree, Molly.

[@darlenefraser3022]

Jeez, that influencer looked like crap when she was interviewed. Ever put on lipstick before?

[@Spook-No1]

I thought the same. She looked drugged out.

[@paulos9900]

@@Spook-No1 In the article her former room mate said he noticed a change in her after she started using hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca so I wouldn't be surprised.

[@t-rexbatman36yearsago]

11:05 shes pure evil ..playing dumb now

[@PamellaRibeiro]

When all this happened everyone here in Brazil were watching as a gossip show or bullshit internet drama until the things got real serious.

[@defendandprotect-om5hv]

Many people telling one story and the influencer telling another. Wonder who is lying. SMH.

[@youtubealiasoriginal]

Dont put these 'influencers' on pedestals

[@___beyondhorizon4664]

Grown women moved to a new city to work for free???

[@bbbt8090]

Pretty stupid but then again some people are poor and stupid to know any better

[@magicdolphin3090]

​its called "desperation" but cool guys, insult the victims like you were there. nice empathy guys, real cool /sar

[@extraterrestrialfascisti7625]

I am a victim of human trafficking. People are constantly shipping me around trying and get rid of me.

[@magicdolphin3090]

currently?

[@bampidraws]

A model who wears make-up like that, yeah right! 😂😂😂😂😂

[@XXExlipse_333]

Man this is insane how could she

[@tsetse]

I don't understand why the victims told the police they were happy. Were they so brainwashed? But then how did they snap out of it?

[@raissaliracunha4998]

She threatened them. The full video of the documentary shows it

[@princessquil]

Same that Gloria Trevi cult.

[@LianaBuzea]

This should be said: coaching is about empowering people to build their goals, not promise them jobs or manage their money. When you work with a coach, always seek their professional background. And always keep in mind a coach can't be doing business with their coachees. Neither have intimate relationships with them. I hope BBC will one day do a material on what coaching actually is. The public or general audiences need this information.

[@FayeWilo]

She doesn't look anything like Barbie...

[@joaoteixeira822]

Blond, tall, white, skinny.

[@gabrieleruediger957]

Barbie would not look like Barbie after 2 years inside a brazilian jail

[@robinhood4640]

They both have the same plastic texture.

[@johnnyflores5954]

She’s not a natural blonde, she’s not even Northern European white. She has, that Mediterranean look. Southern Europeans aren’t considered white by Northern European standards. She is skinny though.

[@raissaliracunha4998]

@@johnnyflores5954she IS natural blond. You can see from her old pictures. Maybe she bleached to become lighter, but she is blond. And medically she is white, not the most white, but white.

[@FNFNFN99KKK]

What about the people she worked for?

[@princessquil]

They are the powerful and with money who facilitate these practices and they never will be exposed !

[@wits3392]

What a shame to my country 😒 She is pretty, she could had a good life, but decided to go into this path, we Brazilians don't claim her

[@princessquil]

If they work honestly may be they will be rich when they are old,but they want to enjoy the good life while they are young then they choose the fast way (delinquency)

[@PG-tc6os]

She could easy work at McDonalds 😂😂

[@caterra-]

What’s with all the comments about bangladesh?

[@iamdmc]

botladesh

[@caterra-]

@@iamdmc ah, so random

[@irishbob]

I think there are protest going on there

[@stefanschleps8758]

Where is the "Me Too?!"

[@shamrock141]

It's a story on BBC news, and she's being held accountable for her actions

[@shivjain]

Thanks for the effort

[@Revengestar]

I always thought that women who traffic other women are parts of trafficking rings and coerced/forced by the men who run the ring, it is the first time I see ONE woman orchestrating to traffic other women for her sole benefit. She was already rich and famous, she could have had a legit online business and give them proper jobs and help them, but her greed was too much. Thank you for posting this documentary, I have a lot more learning to do.

[@celestemaes5336]

I wonder what happened to the husband with all of the guns. Surely he’s in trouble for not reporting her.

[@serwaakobua7826]

No accountability on her part as its expected. I pray all the women involved are healed in Jesus name. Amen. Sending them love from Ghana

[@Tolpuddle581]

Sorry to inform you Jesus is a myth and praying is just wishful thinking.

[@robertguildford]

Desire is a weakness in all humans, that can and will be exploited by others to your detriment.

[@StanHowse]

A-fkn-Men, Brother.

[@tgreaux5027]

its amazing youre giving this woman shit when corporations literally are designed to do this to American workers every f-ing day.

[@Kamikaze19191]

Everyone wants easy money and not work real jobs with skill

[@MahfuzHasan-q1t]

#Save_Bangladeshi_students🇧🇩 #QuotaReformProtest🇧🇩 #save us from dictator bangladeshi prime minister 🇧🇩

[@ariatamar2706]

Most of these women entered it willingly, because of greed. That part is untold.

[@lauriedaniele5967]

I don’t understand why she wasn’t putting in prison here and then deported to Brazil that she could not come back into America.

[@mertysrowen1954]

The sound of freedom

[@user-pe7fu3hm4e]

Every woman has a female enemy.

[@magicdolphin3090]

brother, get offline and read a book, okay?

[@user-pe7fu3hm4e]

@@magicdolphin3090 I've read & that's what it says.

[@user-go3xc2lh6n]

Please help us..Bangladesh media is sold out to our govenment.Thousands of students are brutally ignured and many habe been killed today deapite having peaceful protect against Quota System.We want justice and international support..Please stay with us.. From Bangladesh 🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩

[@serious-bot]

SAFE BANGLADESHI STUDENTS😢😢 WE ARE NOT SAFE😢😢

[@monsieurvs773]

People leaving comments before watching the video

[@McVet3]

Stop this stuff! Everyone come on.. Also stop getting lip fillers

[@bobbygreen9766]

Some people are so silly

[@miamiwax5504]

Brazil has the most beautiful women and they all want to look white withe blonde hair its bizarre

[@DaianeSpranger]

Is true

[@user-wo8yx1ci6p]

# help Bangladeshi students They are being attacked by their government for their rights

[@mielesther]

She is a liar 😌

[@jessicak88]

The women who fell for this have issues... like what..no. They were also blinded by money and fame.

[@magicdolphin3090]

people will find any excuse to blame victims smh. doesnt matter babe, they were exploited reguardless of what they wanted. very sad to see you assume they were lying. you have some issues you need to work out it would seem. empathy, we need more empathy. its a basic human emotion, if you have issues with it, there are people who can help you. we need to build each other up. you are allowed to have these thoughts, but having them so justified in your head that you write a physical response, that is an issue. it means you are OKAY with saying this, that this is who you want to be. its not very attractive, and my opinion doesnt matter, sure, but i cant imagine you will get far with your mindset. we all have our moments, but please, before you comment, think. we dont need more of this in the world, and im just disappointed to see it. much love, take care ^^

[@jessicak88]

@@magicdolphin3090 are you on drugs?

[@jessicak88]

@@magicdolphin3090 They were driven shallow and evil things ( money and fame). People need to take responsibility for situations they put themselves in sometimes. It’s true that if they were blinded by the superficial promises of fame and money, they wouldn’t have been in this situation. I don’t know one person who would be in this situation. Because I don’t surround myself by selfish people who only want money and fame. I’m not the bad person here, they are. I don’t prize money and fame over human decency. Everyone in this video is what is wrong in the world today. That’s a fact. The reason no empathy exists is because people prize money and fame over human decency. These women are only victims of their selfish desires to money and fame.

[@k3rc4]

Someone paid too much attention in Tate's online courses

[@Eli-ld7qf]

Influencers are always red flags

[@andres528528]

Well I guess the Barbie look has really gone downhill

[@lisssafilipe]

This is so terrifying...

[@GAMEofRADIATION]

#ALjazerra #Bbcnews #CNN #TheWashingtonPost #TheNewYorkTimes #TheGuardian #BBC #AlJazeeraEnglish #TheWallStreetJournal #CNBC #DhruvRathee #UnitedNations #NewYorkTimesOpinion #ABCNews #NewYorkPost #ProjectNightfall #AbhiandNiyu #QuotaReformProtest Please save our university Brothers 🙏 🇧🇩 #Save_bangladeshi_student

[@princessquil]

Live example of a narcissist

[@Seyiid1453]

It's unbelievable what Photoshop, make-up and good lighting can do to an average-looking woman. Influencers pretend to be effortlessly beautiful but they use all sorts of social media Tricks to make other women so insecure that they try to emulate them. But no matter what you do, no one looks that perfect in real life. Everyone has flaws, but these are what make you distinctive and unique. Accept it. But the most important thing is that you should accept yourself as you are. No matter whether you are fat or slim, ugly or beautiful. It's all part of your being. Accept yourself as you look so you can live in peace with yourself.

[@Rebel1972x]

Who is she influencing now?

[@blandinatan5451]

Prisoners

[@Farold_Haltermeyer]

Please don't use that voiceover person again...turns a vital and disturbing series of events into a patronising entertainment piece

[@jakebe4915]

This was excellent but so chilling. A sociopath. Bravo BBC.

[@otilianaoro5951]

😂 bbc did a brazilian version of this doc... why? If is the same history?

[@PhyllisBurris]

She did not convince them. KAT pimped them by threatening them & enslaving them & torturing them.

[@jgf4255]

Some women are really naive.

[@magicdolphin3090]

you have no idea who these people are. how do you know this? people are desperate. yes it was stupid, but omg what is wrong with you? you see something like this, and your contribution to it is just "some women are naive"? Hello, delusional 😂. You are experiencing something called confirmation bias. BECAUSE you believe a statement to be true already, you WILL find reasons and ways to confirm that bias. take a hard think, you most likely ALREADY have issues with how you view women. this makes your lense biased. every human does it. we know very little about our world through our senses, 99% is just our brain filling in the gaps. yours just sucks and is filled with sexism unfortunately :(. dont worry, i dont believe you are a lost cause, just very naive! i think you (and everyone, including me!), would benifit from picking up a book and getting off twitter ^^

[@magicdolphin3090]

much reguards, stay safe!

[@hereb4theend]

This is narcissistic abuse.

[@auro1986]

bbc, this is what bloody digital marketing is all about

[@sda0073]

it would be interested to know her political inclinations

[@mangotreemafia6766]

I always ask my self how could anyone be so stupid to fall for these schemes. But then again I can't judge them because everyone dreams of the good life.

[@VanessaPark-sf3hz]

a typical narcissist.

[@SiderEto]

no juice at all

[@easinafjaal7560]

#savebangladesh #savebangladeshistudents

[@emiliobello2538]

Oh my God

[@fahad05-ip8pz]

Kindly help them😭🇧🇩

[@The_Stockfather]

I believe her. Set her free!

[@orangewarm1]

the journalists didn't present any evidence to the accused. there were things you could have showed. quite a slim report.

[@theagta]

This is only part of full documentary, so I'm sure there's a lot more to the interview.

[@magicdolphin3090]

get off mainstream news?? you guys arent that dense, cmon. mainstream news is horrible and biased, basically useless. EVERYTHING needs to be fact checked, unless you pay for a service to fact check for you.

[@selenaquintanilla4ever330]

Where are the comments

[@EziekKiel]

The video was just posted so the comments are a little wonky at first. They will come.

[@kazikazi621]

Save Bangladesh We want justice from Bangladesh 🇧🇩

[@211inprogress]

She is pretty f********

[@user-wu1dv6jk5s]

Funny how the BBC's credibility comes and goes for people, it's ok when it aligns with the special little world you created in your minds

[@JPIbanez84]

Hell of an influencer.

[@IsabelChagas-kl8br]

Desculpe eu nao entedi qual o cignificado d3sta pergunta

[@charlesapana9935]

May God have mercy

[@elisabethfong421]

MONEY is👿...people du DOM things for MONEY!!!!

[@SowmikeHalder]

#Save_Bangladeshi_students #ALjazerra #Bbcnews #CNN #TheWashingtonPost #TheNewYorkTimes #TheGuardian #BBC #AlJazeeraEnglish #TheWallStreetJournal #CNBC #DhruvRathee #UnitedNations #NewYorkTimesOpinion #ABCNews #NewYorkPost #ProjectNightfall #AbhiandNiyu #QuotaReformProtest

[@josfur1977]

shes like that other dude too that got also arrested for human trafficking... but the guy was more famous

[@Solscapes.]

Every life coach is a narcissist.

[@HDIrwin]

Terrible tale, but jeez some people are so bloody stupid.

[@hana_moon]

evilllllll

[@butterfliesandsilkflorals3716]

Who is telling the ??? 🤔

[@iamtheelijah4365]

Satan