Netflix has come under fire after a controversial Brazilian Christmas comedy called The First Temptation of Christ has shown Jesus as gay. Conservative Christians have taken offence, with almost 1.8 million users signing a petition on Change.org for the special to be removed from the streaming platform.
What’s more, the petition calls for Porta dos Fundos – the Brazilian YouTube comedy group who made the special – to be ‘held responsible for the crime of villainous faith’.
The 46 minute Portuguese language special first aired on Netflix Brazil on December 3. While Netflix declined to comment when asked by Business Insider, they were guided to a statement from Porta de Fundos which states: ‘Porta dos Fundos values 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’.
Those accessing Netflix Brazil can read a description of the show which says ‘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 the comedians Porta dos Fundos.’
Another petition for the removal of the show states: ‘It is an absolutely unacceptable provocation. No one has the right to attack the faith of millions of people around the world.
‘This type of supposed ‘shows’ only cause one thing: numbing the population to attacks against Christians.’
