Creators of Controversial Gay Jesus Netflix Special Attacked on Christmas Eve
Porta dos Fundos, the Brazilian YouTube comedy group that created the controversial Netflix special depicting a gay Jesus, was attacked on Christmas Eve.
The group revealed the news in a statement on Instagram, explaining that the backdoor of their Rio de Janeiro headquarters was hit with a number of Molotov cocktails — a device typically consisting of a bottle filled with flammable liquid.
Porta dos Fundos shared in the statement, which has been translated to English, that a security guard, who happened to be on duty at the time of the incident, was able to contain the fire, which “endangered several innocent lives in the company and on the street.”
There were no injuries reported. The comedy group has since turned over surveillance footage to authorities in hopes of finding who is responsible.
“Porta dos Fundos condemns any act of violence and has made the security camera images available to authorities, and expects those responsible for the attacks to be found and punished. However, our priority right now is the safety of the entire team that works with us.”
A post shared by Porta dos Fundos (@portadosfundos) on Dec 24, 2019 at 3:29pm PST
Porta dos Fundos went on to share that despite the incident, they “will move on, more united, stronger, more inspired and confident that the country will survive this storm of hatred, and love will prevail along with freedom of speech.”
Police are investigating whether or not the attack was as a result of the backlash following the release of the Netflix special The First Temptation of Christ, CNN reported.
“Terrorism was not classified at first, but we do not rule out any hypothesis,” police said in a statement obtained by CNN.
The film sparked backlash earlier this month, prompting over two million to sign a petition to have the special removed from the streaming service.
RELATED: Netflix Urged by Over 2 Million People to Remove Comedy Special That Depicts Jesus as Gay
In the 46-minute special, the character of Jesus reportedly attends a surprise birthday party along with his friend Orlando. According to Variety, it is heavily implied in the special that Jesus and Orlando have a sexual relationship.
A description of the satirical special written by Netflix reads: “Jesus, who’s hitting the big 3-0, brings a surprise guest to meet the family. A Christmas special so wrong, it must be from comedians Porta dos Fundos.”
The Washington Post reported that other controversial moments in the special include Jesus’ mother Mary smoking weed and one biblical character hiring a sex worker.
As of Dec. 18, over 2.1 million people had signed a Change.org petition calling for the special to be removed from Netflix and for the creators to “be held responsible for the crime of villainous faith.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, Porta dos Fundos said, “Porta dos Fundos values artistic freedom and humor through satire on the most diverse cultural themes of our society and believes that freedom of expression is an essential construction for a democratic country.”
Netflix didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Porta dos Fundos has been making satirical religious films for years, according to Variety. The group won an International Emmy last year for their most recent holiday special, another religious satire called The Last Hangover.
