Cashlino –
“Freedom” 
A Florida woman who shared photos of her bruised and bloodied face on social media following a domestic violence attack has gone viral in her native Brazil.
Melissa Gentz, 22, was attacked by socialite boyfriend Erick Bretz Sept. 23 in his downtown Tampa condo tower, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
But the University of South Florida student didn’t shy away from taking her injuries public; three days later, she shared a selfie on Instagram that showed off her massive black-and-blue and bloodshot eyes.
“You know how we usually have a side of our face that we prefer more than the other? I like my left side. Unfortunately, it’s the side that was severely bruised by violence,” she captioned the image. “Today was the first day in which I felt like passing some mascara and blush on the right side of my face… I won’t hide the marks of my story because NO woman should feel ashamed of (sic) feel blamed for being a victim of domestic violence.”
Melissa L. Gentz shared photos of her injuries to social media. (Instagram)
Four days later, she again shared a photo of her battered face, only this time, she was nestling it in a basket of flowers.
“Life moves on and we’re all strong enough to put ourselves first,” she wrote.
The Times reports that the images quickly went viral in Brazil, and that they’ve been shared more than 1 million times, racking up support from both strangers and famous faces.
“Courageous. Doing what you have done is important and necessary,” Brazilian soap star Joao Vicente de Castro wrote while sharing Gentz’s post. “I’m proud of people like you. We are with you.”
Erick Bretz was arrested Sept. 23 for domestic violence. (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)
Bretz, 25, was arrested and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on charges of domestic battery by strangulation and tampering with a witness, online records show.
He was released days later on a $60,000 bail, and has since pleaded not guilty.
His father owns one of Brazil’s largest grocery chains, and he is also well-known on the Brazilian Motocross Championship circuit, according to the Times.
He and Gentz had reportedly been dating for three months before the Sept. 23 attack, in which he allegedly grew “argumentative and jealous” after mixing insomnia medication with alcohol, and kicked Gentz in the face and tried to strangle her with his legs. She also told police that he punched her in the face, pulled out chunks of her hair, and struck her in the face with a bottle.
