Brazil’s supreme court has upturned an earlier ruling ordering Netflix, an American streaming service, to take down ‘The First Temptation of Christ’ — its controversial Christmas special depicting Jesus Christ as “gay”.
The farcical comedy shows Jesus bringing a boyfriend to meet his family with Mary and Joseph planning a surprise party for his 30th birthday.
TheCable Lifestyle had reported how Benedicto Abicair, a judge in Rio de Janeiro, had directed Netflix to stop streaming the satirical movie on Wednesday.
According to him, the temporary measure was to address the controversies generated by the movie among Christians in the country, until a higher court delivers a final verdict.
He had further tackled the streaming service, stating that the movie largely abused freedom of expression.
“The right to freedom of expression… is not absolute,” the judge had said.
But in his ruling on Thursday, Dias Toffoli, supreme court’s president, held that Netflix be allowed to continue streaming the film.
He added that freedom of speech was fundamental in a democracy.
“One cannot suppose that a humorous satire has the ability to weaken the values of the Christian faith, whose existence is traced back more than two thousand years, and which is the belief of the majority of Brazilian citizens,” the judge said.
Produced by Porta dos Fundos, a Brazil-based YouTube comedy group, the 45-minute special has left heated controversies in its trail, with many pushing its ban — while others called on Christians to unsubscribe their Netflix accounts.
Copyright 2024 TheCable. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from TheCable.
Follow us on twitter @Thecablestyle