Netflix urged to remove ‘Gay Jesus’ film after 1.8 million sign petition

17 December 2019, 14:03

By Sam Prance

The First Temptation of Christ is receiving backlash from Netflix viewers over claims that it's "offensive" to Christians.

Netflix is coming under fire over its brand new comedy special The First Temptation of Christ and it's all thanks to gay Jesus.

The First Temptation of Christ is a Christmas special created by Brazilian YouTube comedy group Back Door for Netflix and it depicts Jesus as gay and Mary as a weed-smoker. In the 46-minute feature, Jesus brings home an effeminate "friend" called Orlando. The show then makes multiple references to Jesus being gay as he tries to hide Orlando's identity from his family.

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In fact, Orlando appears to openly allude to the fact that he has had sex with Jesus. Within the special, he sings a Christmas song about Jesus with the lyric: “In the heat of the desert I saw the size of his huge power.” Since the new show debuted on Netflix this month, it's received huge backlash and over 1.8 million people have signed a petition to remove it from Netflix.

Following the release of the comedy, people have taken to Twitter to complain that it's "offensive" to Christians. One person wrote: "BREAKING: @netflix released a show depicting Jesus as GAY?! Let’s make this CLEAR! Jesus isn’t some “woke” culture experiment for you to convince young people that biblical teachings are “debatable”?! Jesus is the SON OF GOD and died for our sins! Show some RESPECT!"

Another added: "Dear Dear @netflix You have a right to your beliefs, but so do I. I also have the right to no longer fund you making fun of my beliefs. Jesus was not gay or a drunk. This is disrespectful. I pray you never do the same to other religions. But Jesus forgives you & He still loves you."

Naturally, people have also been using social media to point out that the special is satirical and the outcry surrounding the film is ridiculous. Not only that but many of the tweets complaining about the film are homophobic. One person tweeted: "why is jesus being depicted as gay disrespectful to christianity? let's unpack that. i know why, but i want to hear you say it".

Meanwhile, another wrote: "So a million people have signed a petition calling for Netflix to remove a a comedic film called The First Temptation of Christ because it depicts Jesus as a gay man which is blasphemous and offensive. Well, guess what a bitch is watching tonight with a glass of wine".

In a statement to Variety about the special, Backdoor explained: “Backdoor 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." As it stands, Netflix have yet to respond to the backlash.

Backdoor previously won the International Emmy Award for best comedy for their film 'The Last Hangover', which depicts Jesus as drunk. You can still stream both The Last Hangover and The First Temptation of Christ now.

What do you think of the backlash surrounding the film?