Three months ago, details about the third season of La casa de papel (Money Heist) were revealed with everyone’s favorite thieving antiheroes returning for a new heist. The new season debuted on Netflix July 19, but audiences who watch the show now might notice a few scenes inserted into two episodes that weren’t there before.
It’s now been revealed that Brazilian soccer player Neymar is in the series, playing a monk named João who interacts with the characters in episodes six and eight. These scenes were not included when the show arrived in July because of a rape allegation lobbied against the superstar by Brazilian model Najila Trindade Mendes de Souza. The allegation resulted in Neymar not only being excised from Money Heist but also losing a lucrative sponsorship deal with MasterCard.
A few weeks ago, the allegation was dismissed by São Paulo prosecutors due to both a lack of evidence and a prior relationship between the pair. A few days later, Neymar posted on his Twitter that “I was able to make my dream come true and be part of my favorite series! And now I can share João with all of you!” Netflix confirmed to El País that those specific scenes were cut prior the new season’s release while the rape case was ongoing, but there’s been no official word about why they were added back.
Of course, rape allegations are tricky, even more so in a post-#MeToo era but this is disheartening that the investigation won’t continue and everything is business as usual. Some might feel they shouldn’t work with Neymar after the allegations came to light, but Netflix likely felt it could move forward after the case was dropped by the prosecutor in August and the accuser was indicted on charges of fraud, slander and extortion in September. It’s unclear exactly when the scenes were added back in, but Neymar’s tweet announcing his cameo was posted on August 27; that’s after the case was closed but before the accuser was charged.
The third season of La casa de papel is available to stream on Netflix.