Almost two million Brazilians have signed a petition calling for Netflix to withdraw a comedy depicting Jesus as a gay man.

The online petition says The First Temptation of Christ has offended Christians.

The 46-minute Christmas special, made by YouTube comedy group Porta dos Fundos, depicts an almost 30-year-old Jesus taking a man presumed to be his boyfriend, Orlando, to meet his family.

Image: Jesus is approaching his 30th birthday in the show. Pic: Netflix

When asked where he knows Orlando from, he replies: "The desert."

Orlando later plays a keyboard and sings a song which includes lyrics such as: "God is so good, He created the world in seven days.


"And after a little while, He drowned his creation."

Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, called the film "garbage" and said the filmmakers "do not represent Brazilian society".

Brazil has more Catholics that any other country, prompting an angry reaction on Twitter.

Image: Jesus takes Orlando to meet his family. Pic: Netflix

One person said they had cancelled their Netflix subscription, writing: "I have nothing against being gay, but not when it mocks my God."

Someone else described the film as "an attack not just on our faith but blasphemy against our Lord".

Porta dos Fundos said in a statement that it "values artistic freedom and humour 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".

The Vatican considers homosexual acts - but not homosexuality itself - to be sinful.

Earlier this year, President Bolsonaro suspended funding for a series of movies, including a handful with LGBT+ themes, but that decision was reversed by a federal court.