A new comedy depicting Jesus Christ as a gay man on a Netflix Christmas special has become the streaming giant’s most controversial series to date in Brazil, sparking two million people to sign a petition calling for its cancelation, Breitbart reports.
The Portuguese-language special, The First Temptation of Christ follows Jesus as he brings what appears to be his boyfriend Orlando home to meet the Holy Family, Mary and Joseph. The show, which debuted worldwide on Netflix earlier this month, comes from the Brazilian comedy group Porta dos Fundos (Back Door).
Netflix’s synopsis reads: ‘Jesus, who’s hitting the big 3-0, brings a surprise guest to meet the family. A Christmas special so wrong, it must be from comedians Porta dos Fundos.’
So far, 2 million people have signed an online petition calling on Netflix to remove the 46-minute show and take action against the producers for their ‘alleged insensitivity toward Christians,’ and that its makers be held responsible for committing a “crime” against the faith.
Eeduardo Bolsonaro, son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, launched a scathing attack on the film in a damning Twitter rant. ‘We support freedom of expression, but is it worth attacking the belief of 86 percent of the population?’ he wrote.
Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of of Tyler, Texas, said he had canceled the streaming service, tweeting that “blasphemers don’t deserve a penny of support!”
“Respect is the last thing they are thinking about, every Christian should denounce this film, it is blasphemy against the Son of God who suffered & died even for all who deny that He is Lord of the Universe,” said Bishop Joseph Strickland in a tweet Sunday.
“Dear America Podcast” host Graham Allen also condemned the show, saying:“Jesus isn’t some ‘woke’ culture experiment for you to convince young people that biblical teachings are ‘debatable’?!”
Netflix offers a wide array of progressive and left-leaning content, including shows from its high-profile production deal with former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.
Former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice currently sits on Netflix’s board of directors.
Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos is a close friend of the Obamas’ and was an active fundraiser for the former president’s campaign.
Porta dos Fundos have since made a statement: ‘We value artistic freedom and humor through satire on the most diverse cultural themes of our society and believes that freedom of expression is an essential construction for a democratic country.’
The First Temptation of Christ also portrays the Virgin Mary as a marijuana smoker. Netflix backed the comedy group’s last religious send up, The Last Hangover, which satirized the last supper.
Fábio Porchat, the star of the Netflix Christmas comedy special told Variety that the backlash to the film is “homophobic.”
The online petition is seeking a total of 3 million signatures.