A Brazilian court had ordered a ban on the special.
Earlier this week, Benedicto Abicair ordered Netflix to take down the “blasphemous” special, The First Temptation of Christ (A Primeira Tentação de Cristo).
In his ruling, the judge said it would be “beneficial not only to the Christian community, but to Brazilian society which is mostly Christian.”
However, Netflix appealed this ruling to Brazil’s Supreme Court, saying “the court decision aims to silence the group [Porta dos Fundos] through fear and intimidation.”
Supreme Court president, Justice Dias Toffoli, agreed and overturned the ban. Reuters reports that in his judgement, Justice Dias said: “The satire will not affect the Christian faith of Brazilians.”
The Associated Press reports that the judge added: “It is not to be assumed that a humorous satire has the magic power to undermine the values of the Christian faith, whose existence goes back more than two thousand years.”
He also said that free speech was “essential” to democracy.
The First Temptation of Christ (A Primeira Tentação de Cristo), which began streaming on Netflix in December last year, is a TV special that sees the son of God return home to Mary and Joseph with a ‘friend’ called Orlando, who is presumed to be his boyfriend.
The film was produced by Brazilian troupe Porta dos Fundos, who are known for producing irreverent comedies, with some of their content being compared to Monty Python sketches.
Following its release, over two million people signed a Change.org petition to have the film taken down for “seriously offending Christians” and the creator’s headquarters were even attacked with a petrol bomb on Christmas Eve.
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