Brazil’s Supreme Court allowed Netflix to show a comedy that has a homosexual Jesus after a lower court told Netflix to remove that content from its website. The Brazilian Supreme Court ruled late Thursday in favor of Netflix’s film, The First Temptation of Christ.
The movie had prompted outrage in Brazil. There was a petition signed by 2.4 million Brazilian Catholics that argued the “honour of Catholics” was hurt by the airing of The First Temptation of Christ. The special was produced by the Rio-based film company Porta dos Fundos, whose headquarters was attacked with Molotov cocktails. A video had been posted online that saw three men perpetrating the attack.
The Son of Jair Bolsonaro, the President of Brazil, called the film “garbage” and said the film-makers “do not represent Brazilian society”.
The Brazilian Supreme Court said in its ruling, the show does not threaten the Christian faith, Agencia Brasil reported. “We are not neglecting the relevance of respect for the Christian faith. However it should not be assumed that a humorous satire has the power to undermine the values of the Christian faith, whose existence has been for more than two thousand years.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling came just a day after a lower court in Rio de Janeiro ordered Netflix to remove its film. The Judge from the lower court said its removal was “beneficial not only to the Christian community, but to Brazilian society, which is mostly Christian.” The Supreme Court ruling can still be overturned, the decision is currently provisional, due to a judiciary recess.
The First Temptation of Christ, which premiered on Netflix on Dec. 3 and is still on Netflix, told comedic story about Jesus’s return home from the desert for his 30th birthday. Mary and Joseph were waiting up to surprise him with a party, so instead of sneaking in unseen, Jesus is forced to introduce them to his flamboyant male friend. Netflix has expressed support for the group and its “artistic expression” on Twitter.
Trailer below.