She might be pretty, but her job sure isn’t.
Rita Mattos achieved Internet fame after photos of her working as a street sweeper in an orange uniform were posted on Facebook.
The Rio de Janeiro resident has worked for the city’s Municipal Urban Cleaning Company since she was 16 years old and loves it, despite claims she’s too pretty for such a dirty job.
Since the photos of her were initially posted to Facebook, Mattos has become something of a star on social media, racking up for than 20,000 Instagram followers in a short period.
But as her fame grew, the 23-year-old, dubbed 'Sweeper Babe', originally slammed the attention she was receiving - accusing her new followers of discriminating against her less beautiful colleagues.
“People are surprised when they see a pretty girl working as a street cleaner,” Mattos said during an interview. “They say that I could find a better job than sweeping and weeding. But why should street cleaners, necessarily, be ugly?”
“There is a prejudice against them. I’m very proud of what I do. Apart from working very hard, I have a lot of fun, too.” She added.
The se*y worker told the newspaper she would accept work as a model. And despite her profession she is not tied to a squeaky clean image.
Life of a street sweeper means waking up at 4:30 a.m. and work up to 12 hour shifts.She said she thought about a career in the medical field but is now applying to college to pursue work in business administration.
Mattos, who said she won a small beauty pageant in 2011, is used to admirers on the job and though shy she enjoys some of the attention - as well as the more creative catcalls.
But her boyfriend of 7 years is often not pleased with it, she said.
So don't get too close or he may mop the floor with you.
