The Volokh Conspiracy

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Free Speech

Brazilian Judge Blocks Gay Jesus Movie, Supreme Court Reverses

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Reuters (Fabio Texeira) reported:

A Brazilian judge ordered the streaming entertainment service Netflix to stop showing a controversial movie depicting Jesus as a gay man, according to court documents made public on Wednesday.

In the ruling against Netflix, the state court judge said: "The right to freedom of expression … is not absolute."

The First Temptation of Christ, created by Brazilian YouTube comedy group Porta dos Fundos, portrays Jesus bringing home a presumed boyfriend to meet his family.

The show, which started playing on Netflix last month as a Christmas special, has caused an uproar among Brazil's conservative Christians.

Agence France-Presse has an update:

The head of the Supreme Federal Court, Judge Antonio Dias Toffoli, sided with the streaming platform's appeal against a temporary injunction banning the movie….

"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 Brazlian citizens," the judge said.

Unfortunately,

On Christmas Eve, the production company's headquarters in Rio de Janeiro were attacked with Molotov cocktails. No one was hurt. Police said several men with their faces covered took part in the assault.

Police have identified a man named Eduardo Fauzi as a suspect after analyzing security camera footage. He fled to Russia.