Right before Christmas 2019, streaming giant Netflix has stirred the chords after it streamed a Christmas Special, The First Temptation of Christ that portrays Jesus Christ as a gay man.
Netflix's Christmas Special titled, The First Temptation of Christ depicts the life of Jesus who brings his alleged boyfriend home to meet Mary and Joseph. In addition to this, The First Temptation of Christ portrays the Virgin Mary as a marijuana smoking woman.
The First Temptation of Christ also shows Joseph as a carpenter who cannot build a table and allegedly suggests that Jesus has done more than wander around the desert for 40 days. After arriving in Nazareth, Jesus seems to bring along a friend, Orlando — who implies that he and the Son of God are romantically involved. Orlando went on to call Jesus as "naughty Capricorn."
Netflix's Christmas special has caught a lot of attention especially after the youngest son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who tweeted that "We support freedom of expression, but is it worth attacking the faith of 86% of the population?"
An online petition to ban the show
After the outrage from all over the world, an online petition has been initiated urging Netflix to retract its 46-minute show. In addition to this, the online petition is demanding that its makers — a Brazilian comedy group Porto dos Fundos — should be held responsible for committing such atrocity against the faith.
@netflix you’ve completely lost your minds AND this customer. I have justified and excused away your choices in the past but your disgusting mockery of Jesus and Christians isn’t just the final straw but the only reason I’d need to say Peace Out! #TheFirstTemptationOfChrist
— Hilary with 1 L (@HilstreetsTweet) December 13, 2019
The online petition that is seeking a total of 3 million signatures has already crossed 2 million signatures in just a couple of days.
Apart from this, Netflix is facing criticism from all the fronts. The Catholic bishop of Tyler, Texas, went on to call The First Temptation of Christ a blasphemous act.
No religions above criticism& bein subjectd https://t.co/YpYT7y9xIV not religious myslf.But this preview made me uncomfortable
— Thinker Bell (@dontMissAlyssa) December 18, 2019
Remind me of #drawmohammed
Not rly funny, no rich discourse.. Just unnecesarily offensive 2sevrl groups#blackJesus #GayJesus#TheFirstTemptationofChrist pic.twitter.com/o4sgS1BXkf
"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 after the release of Netflix's The First Temptation of Christ.
This Christmas special is in Portuguese language and debuted on Netflix earlier this month. The First Temptation of Christ is available to stream on Netflix in selected countries only but you can still watch the trailer below and see why the show is getting so much negative attention from so many people.
