After posting a picture of a half-naked woman on stage during a play in Makhachkala, Dagestan, Khabib Nurmagomedov called for increased censorship in his native republic and demanded that those behind the play be held responsible. His comments have since found support in the Dagestani government, including from the local Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of National Policy, and the Mufti of Dagestan.

The play in question — titled Hunting for Men — is billed as an action comedy about a woman in search of new pleasures after her husband begins to lose interest in her. While none of the scenes featured nudity, one of the main characters does appear in lingerie during a portion of the play. This was enough for Nurmagomedov to label the display as “pornography” and demand an investigation into all those involved with the play.

“My advice to the leadership of Dagestan, organize an investigation, and the organizers receive punishment according to the law and apologize to the people, and in future for this never to be repeated, that events of this type are controlled at the level of the ministers and leaders of the Republic,” added Nurmagomedov, who later deleted the image of the woman in lingerie and replaced it with a black screen.

Nurmagomedov’s comments stoked outrage from local Dagestanis, many of whom flooded the play’s creative team with angry comments. Ivan Zhidko, an actor and producer in the play, issued an apology on social media. He also revealed that he and his team have been harassed and threatened online following Nurmagomedov’s comments.

“The bed scene [referred to by Khabib] is part of the performance,” Zhidko stated during his apology on Instagram. “We did not suspect that it could cause such resonance. [My direct messages] are littered with threats. I understand that this is the answer to our intended offence, but still…”

Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov’s comments have continued to stoke outrage among notable Dagestani athletes and celebrities, including Olympic Gold medalist Abdulrashid Sadulayev.

“Despite knowing which republic we live in, these evil spirits come and impose their “culture” on us. How much can you swallow?! How long will the birthplace of great ancestors endure such humiliation ?!” Sadulayev stated on Instagram.

Nurmagomedov’s concerns also came to the attention of the Kremlin. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin, stated that “Russia is a multinational country, and the specifics of its people cannot be ignored.”