A Netflix parody movie from Brazilian comedians depicting Jesus as a gay man has prompted the deputy prime minister in the Law and Justice (PiS) government, Jarosław Gowin, to encourage Internet users to sign an online petition demanding the show be removed.
“Reed Hastings: We demand that Netflix remove the blasphemous film from its platform,” Jarosław Gowin wrote on Twitter, addressing the head of Netflix which is currently streaming “The First Temptation of Christ”.
Reed Hastings: Żądamy, by Netflix usunął bluźnierczy film ze swojej platformy! – Podpisz: https://t.co/mAoyYgw2PM
— Jarosław Gowin (@Jaroslaw_Gowin) January 5, 2020
The show, produced by Brazilian comedians from the group Porta dos Fundos (Back Door), is a parody depicting Jesus as a gay man.
The petition has garnered over 1.4 million signatures
The Polish deputy prime minister was not the only one promoting the petition, with Christians across the web urging others to sign it.
“Every year, the Brazilian comedy group Porta dos Fundos produces a film for Christmas to attack Christians and Christianity. The series is titled: The First Temptation of Christ. It can be said that these productions have only one goal – blasphemy. Of course, the subject of this blasphemy is only one religion – Christianity,” reads the petition that has been signed by more than 1.4 million people by Wednesday morning.
The authors of the petition go on to argue that Netflix does not mock the Muslim religion and that attacks on Christianity encourage the persecution of Christians worldwide. Yesterday, France commemorated the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo killings, in which two Islamists stormed the Paris office and massacred cartoonists over the publication’s decision to publish a cartoon depicting Mohammed.
The media is awash in movies and films mocking Christians and Jesus, with this film just the latest example.
Christians are currently recognized as the most persecuted religious group in the world. There are 245 million Christians worldwide persecuted because of their faith. In 2018, 11 Christians were killed each day simply for being Christians.
Christians also took issue with the timing of the movie, with many saying that such an attack during the Christmas period, when the movie was first released, is thought to be particularly vile by the organizers of the petition.
In Brazil, two million people signed a petition asking for the movie to be removed from Netflix as it offends the religious sentiments of Christians. The son of the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has apologized to Poles for the film on Twitter.
We are sorry that this garbage got this far in Poland. They do not represent Brazilian society and the repudiation of this film is coming from various parts. https://t.co/ZlcqzsNORy
— Eduardo Bolsonaro?? (@BolsonaroSP) December 14, 2019
“The First Temptation of Christ” was published by Netflix on Dec. 3. Despite the millions protesting the movie, Netflix has not removed the film.
