LOS ANGELES - The Rio de Janeiro H.Q. of Porta dos Fundos, the Brazilian comedy troupe behind the Netflix gay Jesus Christmas Special sparking outrage in Brazil, was hit by a Molotov cocktail attack in the early hours of Dec. 24.
Two petrol bombs were thrown at the building. causing a fire, which was put out by one of the office's security guards, according to one report.
No one was hurt in the attack which, however, "endangered several innocent lives in the company and on the street," Porta dos Fundos said in a press statement. Porta dos Fundos has given security cam footage of the attack to authorities.
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It comes three weeks after Netflix released on Dec. 3 the 2019 Special, "The First Temptation of Christ," and - in an indication of the wildly disparate reaction to films made in a similar vein — a month or so after Porta dos Fundos won an Intl. Emmy for its prior Jesus-themed 2018 Christmas Special, "The Last Hangover," in which his disciples wake up after a Last Supper blow-out, where Thomas contributes hard drugs and prostitutes, to discover Jesus is nowhere to be seen.
The petrol bomb attack also comes after a petition calling on authorities to ban "The First Temptation of Christ" has notched up 2.33 million signatures.
Released by Netflix on Dec. 3, "The First Temptation of Christ" starts with Jesus sneaking back home after 40 days in the desert, only to be surprised by Mary and Joseph who throw him a surprise 30th birthday party.
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Trouble is Jesus turns up with Orlando, a lovely young man he's met in the desert. Orlando's behavior suggests that he's almost certainly gay; Jesus is never portrayed as explicitly gay but is mightily embarrassed to be discovered with Orlando.
"Porta dos Fundos condemns any act of violence. We expect 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," the comedy group said after Tuesday night's attack,
"We will speak again once we have more details," it added, "Meanwhile, Porta dos Fundos would like to reinforce our commitment to good humor and declare that we will move on stronger, more united, inspired, and confident that Brazil will survive this storm of hatred, and love will prevail along with freedom of speech."