This archive report was first published on 9 January 2020.
Published on January 9, 2020, a judge in Brazil issued a temporary injunction forcing Netflix to withdraw a comedy that depicts Jesus Christ in a homosexual relationship.
The film, 'The First Temptation of Christ', produced by the Brazilian company Porta dos Fundos, was released on December 3 and sparked outrage from conservative politicians, the Catholic Church, and evangelicals.
Thousands of people signed a petition calling for the film's withdrawal, and on Christmas Eve, the production company's headquarters in Rio de Janeiro was attacked with Molotov cocktails, although no one was hurt.
Judge Benedicto Abicair ordered the film's removal to calm tempers until the courts can consider a lawsuit brought by the Catholic association, the Don Bosco Center for Faith and Culture.
Netflix and the production company said they had not yet received the judge's order, and the ruling can be appealed.
Porta dos Fundos is an award-winning comedy producer, founded in 2012, which won an international Emmy in 2018.
