The First Temptation of Christ

About

The First Temptation of Christ is a 2019 Brazilian TV comedy special by the comedy group Porta Dos Fundos. The film, which implies that Jesus Christ is gay, has been the center of controversy since premiering on Netflix in December 2019. Critics have decried the dark comedy as blasphemous. Porta dos Fundos reported that on Christmas Eve a group of people threw explosives at their headquarters.

History

On December 3rd, 2019, The First Temptation of Christ premiered on Netflix (shown below).^[1]

Reception

Criticism

On December 12th, 2019, Change.org ^[2] user Alex Brindejoncy launched a campaign to have the special removed from Netflix and the creators be "held responsible for the crime of villainous faith." Within a month more than 2.3 million people signed the petition.

Throughout December, people expressed outrage against the film. Many posted on Twitter ^[3] using the hashtag "CanceloNetflix." Conservative activist Jack Posobiec tweeted that he had been blocked by Netflix on Twitter. The post received more than 3,500 likes and 1,400 retweets (shown below, left).

Others argued that Christian groups protesting the film were hypocritical. Twitter^[4] user @HowardA_Esq tweeted, "Kids in cages: Evangelicals, silent / Three mass shootings in 1 year target Jews: Evangelicals, silent / A 'prez' breaks 9 out of the 10 Commandments: Evangelicals, silent / Netflix shows a possibly gay Jesus: #cancelonetflix / I think y'all are outraged about the wrong things." The tweet received more than 21,000 likes and 5,200 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Christmas Eve Attack

On December 24th, Porta dos Fundos wrote on Facebook that had an attack on their headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil had taken place. There were no injuries as the building was empty. They wrote:

Early on December 24th, Christmas Eve, the headquarters of the back door was the victim of an attack. Vyacheslav cocktails were thrown at our building. One of the security guards managed to control the principle of fire and there were no injuries despite the action

The post received more than 181,000 reactions, 59,000 comments and 24,000 shares (shown below).

According to the LA Times,^[5] a video of a man claiming responsibility for the attack "in the name of a 1930s-era ultranationalist group" emerged. They write:

The man claims to speak for a group he calls the Command of Popular National Insurgence and says it is part of Brazil’s “integralist” movement, which was inspired by Italian fascism during the 1930s.

The video also features three men throwing bombs at the group's production headquarters.

Search Interest

External References