A Brazilian judge has demanded Netflix remove the film The First Temptation of Christ from its catalogue for depicting Jesus as a gay man.
In the satirical movie, Jesus brings home his boyfriend to introduce to his family.
Two-million people signed a petition by a Brazilian Catholic organization demanding the program be cut, and arguing that the “honour of millions of Catholics” was damaged by the show.
On Christmas Eve, the Rio de Janeiro office of Porta dos Fundos, the comedy group that created the film, was attacked with Molotov cocktails by a group of hooded men, reports the BBC . A video was leaked to social media days later showing three men claiming to be responsible for the attack. The case is currently under investigation.
On Wednesday, Judge Benedicto Abicair ruled for a temporary ban on the film until a final decision can be made by a higher court, and declared, “The right to freedom of expression…is not absolute.” He added that removing the show “is beneficial not only to the Christian community, but to Brazilian society, which is mostly Christian.”
Abicair wrote in a statement, “Exhibiting the ‘artistic production’…may cause graver and more irreparable damage than its suspension.”
Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has come under fire recently for cutting funding to arts projects that “challenge Christian views,” reports The Guardian . He also recently said he would rather his son be dead than be gay.
His son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, called the show “garbage” in a tweet, and said Porta dos Fundos “do not represent Brazilian society.”
Netflix and Porta dos Fundos have yet to comment.
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