Brazil Judge Orders Netflix to Stop Airing Gay Jesus

Rio de Janeiro judge Benedicto Abicair on Wednesday ordered Netflix to cease the airing of "The First Temptation of Christ," a Christmas special that many called blasphemous for depicting Jesus as gay, according to an article by Latino Rebels.

The order served as response to the petition by a Brazilian Catholic organization that argued the "honor of millions of Catholics" offended by the 46-minute, Portuguese-language comedy special. Online petitions also sparked last month with millions of signatures calling for its removal from the streaming giant. According to Business Insider, one Change.org petition has earned 2.3 million signatures and another from the conservative group CitizenGo has 1.4 million signatures.

In the satirical film, Jesus returns home on his 30th birthday and hints he is gay. This sparked protests among religious groups.

The film was produced by a Rio-based film company Porta dos Fundos, whose headquarters was targeted by a gasoline bomb attack in the Christmas Eve by a group of hooded men. Days later, a video circulated social media showing three men claiming responsibility for the attack.

Abicair said the program's withdrawal "is beneficial not only to the Christian community, but to Brazilian society, which is mostly Christian."

In his ruling, Abicair wrote, "The consequences of the dissemination and exhibition of 'artistic production' ... are more likely to cause more serious and irreparable damage than its suspension."

Said ruling comes at a time when some civil groups criticize far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for cutting funding for arts projects that challenge "Christian values" and protesting against flamboyant carnival celebrations in the country.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of President Bolsonaro, called the special "garbage" on Twitter. He added that the Brazilian YouTube comedy group that made it, Porta dos Fundos, "do not represent Brazilian society."

Fábio Porchat, the star of the Netflix Christmas comedy special and also the cofounder of the Brazilian YouTube comedy group behind the special, Porta dos Fundos, said in an interview Variety last month that the criticisms against the film was "homophobic."

"For some Catholics here in Brazil, it's okay if Jesus is a bad guy, uses drugs, that's no problem," Porchat said. "The problem is he's gay. No, he can't be gay. And that's interesting because Jesus is everything. God is black and white and gay and straight. God is everything. It's more homophobic to be insulted by a gay Jesus than to make Jesus special."

The Brazilian studio has made similar comedy specials for decades.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix on Thursday released an official statement saying it has not received an official notification of the order, but has filed a complaint in Brazil's Federal Supreme Court.

"We strongly support artistic expression and we'll be fighting to defend this important principle, which goes to the heart of great storytelling," according to its statement.

Felipe Santa Cruz, president of the Brazilian Bar Association, said the ruling go against free expression in the arts, science and communication which is guaranteed by the Brazilian constitution.

"Any form of censorship or threat to this hard-won freedom is a setback and cannot be accepted by society," said Santa Cruz.

The film is still on the streaming platform.