Abstract
A socially divided Brazil is not the easiest place to land a joke, reports
This unprecedented act of violence happened against a backdrop of intense political debate and growing polarisation in the country. The root of the controversy was the comedy film A Primeira Tentação de Cristo (The First Temptation of Christ), created by Porta dos Fundos for Netflix. The film portrayed Jesus as gay, played by journalist and comedian Gregorio Duvivier.
This representation of the Messiah enraged religious groups and political conservative movements. A month after the attack, Duvivier said that he felt "an even greater desire to fight" and that his freedom was "non-negotiable". He also said he thought about leaving the country due to threats.
The same far-right profile that targeted Porta dos Fundos in 2019 continues to threaten comedians such as Duvivier, Fábio Porchat and Yuri Marçal today. They have faced not only threats and online hostilities but so-called "cancel culture", where their careers and reputations are damaged due to controversial comments and stances.
Marçal, a Black comedian, was the target of virtual harassment and hate messages in 2020 after posting a video on X (Twitter) criticising Christian religious fanaticism. The video addressed the case of a 10-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped and the reaction of religious conservatives outside the hospital, attempting to prevent her from having an abortion. After receiving threats, Marçal deleted the video.
In 2022, the year of the presidential elections in Brazil, Marçal made a video to "turn a vote" for Lula da Silva on his social networks. The reception from conservatives was furious. In addition to hundreds of insults from Jair Bolsonaro supporters, he revealed that he received severe threats. "I don’t want anyone, especially people I love, to be harmed by anything I say," he said before removing all videos about politics from his social media.
Porchat, who has more than six million Instagram followers, said that creating humour in Brazil nowadays was risky, to a point. "I’ve been threatened, but no one has ever attacked me on the street because, in reality, these insane people are only brave on the internet," he said.
The debate over the limits of comedy in Brazil reignited when, in May this year, comedian Leo Lins was legally compelled to remove a controversial video that contained offensive jokes about minorities, slavery and disabilities from his YouTube channel. According to a comment of his from his Instagram page, this could "set a dangerous precedent for comedy and art in general".
The decision to remove the video and channel from YouTube divided comedians, with some defending freedom of expression while others argued that Lins’ jokes crossed legal boundaries and promoted prejudice.
Porchat initially defended Lins but later recanted, stressing the importance of freedom of expression within legal boundaries. He initially wrote on X: "Within the law, you can make fun of anything. Not liking a joke doesn’t give you the right to stop it from existing. He has the right to offend. There is no good censorship."
Porchat, however, faced severe online criticism and later posted an Instagram video stating: "My position has never been to defend racist humour. Comedy that attacks, humiliates, and beats minority groups is terrible … What I wanted was to talk about freedom of expression, a fundamental principle for a democratic society, which is always at risk here in Brazil. Freedom of expression means we can express ourselves without fear or censorship. But always within the limits of the law."