A contest to choose the «sexiest» Jesus Christ, men dressed as nuns, and cabaret shows that use the Passion of Christ as an object of mockery. This is the content of Hunky Jesus, a documentary by American director Jennifer M. Kroot that turns the blasphemous performances of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence into a cinematic product—an activist collective that for decades has used Catholic Church symbols for their provocative shows.
The film was recently screened in Geneva, where its programming sparked protests from Catholics who demanded its withdrawal and requested to publicly pray the Rosary in reparation for the offenses against Jesus Christ. Despite the controversy, the documentary will continue its international tour and will be presented in November at the Chéries-Chéris LGBTQIA+ film festival in Paris.
The Resurrection of Christ turned into a mockery spectacle
The documentary captures the celebration that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence organize every Easter Sunday in San Francisco, United States. While millions of Christians celebrate Easter, the collective stages a show in which the figure of Jesus Christ is used for sexualized performances, religious parodies, and cabaret numbers.
One of the central events is the Hunky Jesus contest, in which participants compete to represent the «sexiest» Jesus. For this, they use crowns of thorns, crosses, and other elements linked to the Passion of Christ, combined with provocative costumes and sexual content performances.
The film, approximately 85 minutes long, focuses especially on the 2023 celebration and presents the show along with interviews with members of the collective and testimonies about their trajectory.
The blasphemous nature of the performances is not an interpretation exclusive to those who have denounced the film. The Swiss festival Everybody’s Perfect itself promoted the documentary by highlighting its «blasphemous cabaret numbers.»
Far from critically examining these representations, the film presents them as an expression of creativity and social advocacy. The parody of Jesus Christ and religious life is thus framed as cultural celebration, while the offense to Catholics is pushed to the background.
The production turns the image of the crucified and risen Christ into a resource for entertainment and sexual provocation. The celebration of Easter, the center of the Christian faith, becomes the stage for a spectacle built on the mockery of its most sacred symbols.
False nuns and decades of attacks on Catholic symbols
The protagonists of the documentary are the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an organization founded in San Francisco in 1979 whose members use caricatured versions of Catholic nuns’ habits, theatrical makeup, and names that parody convent life.
The collective presents itself as an LGBT activist organization and also engages in charitable activities. However, its public performances have for decades included blasphemous representations of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, popes, and consecrated nuns.
Among its precedents is a performance presented as an exorcism of Pope John Paul II in 1987.
The religious habit, a sign of a life consecrated to God, becomes in their performances a cabaret costume. Convent names, sacred images, and references to the liturgy are used to construct parodies that distort central elements of the Catholic faith. The collective presents these performances as humor and advocacy, but their content constitutes a public mockery of what Catholics venerate.
Religious provocation is therefore not an accidental element of their shows, but one of their most recognizable features. The controversies led by the organization are also not new: their performances have repeatedly sparked protests from Catholics who denounce the ridicule of consecrated persons and the offensive use of Christian symbols.
American bishops have already denounced the collective’s mockery
In June 2023, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were at the center of a major controversy when the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team decided to honor a section of the group during an LGBT Pride celebration.
The decision provoked rejection from numerous faithful and several American bishops, who denounced the mockery of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and nuns.
The Archbishop of Los Angeles, José Gómez, spoke out against the public recognition of the collective. Other prelates also did so, including Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In the face of the controversy, the Dodgers initially withdrew the invitation, although they later reversed course and maintained the tribute.
The American bishops then called for a day of prayer and reparation coinciding with the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
That episcopal reaction made clear the rejection that the group’s performances provoke among Catholics. The controversy was not limited to the costumes or the provocative nature of their performances, but to the use of sacred images and religious life as instruments of public mockery, now also disseminated through a documentary that favorably presents the trajectory of its protagonists.
In Geneva the film was allowed, but a gathering to pray the Rosary was rejected
The screening of Hunky Jesus at the Everybody’s Perfect festival, held in Geneva from October 9 to 18, has sparked a new controversy.
The film was scheduled for October 10, 14, and 17 at the Grütli Cinemas. In response to its inclusion, the Catholic association Civitas Switzerland requested its withdrawal, considering it a grave offense against Jesus Christ and the religious convictions of the faithful.
The organizers rejected the request and maintained the screenings.
Subsequently, Civitas requested authorization to organize a gathering in front of the cinema and publicly pray the Rosary as an act of reparation for the blasphemies depicted in the documentary.
However, the cantonal authorities denied the permit, citing restrictions established for religious demonstrations in public spaces in Geneva.
The result was a striking contradiction: the screening of a film that presents Jesus Christ as an object of sexual parody went ahead, while Catholics who sought to gather to pray the Rosary in reparation were not granted authorization to do so. The artistic freedom invoked to defend the documentary thus contrasted with the restrictions applied to a public demonstration of prayer.
The controversy is especially significant because the festival organizers themselves had described the performances as blasphemous. Despite this, they defended its screening as an expression of artistic freedom, while the Catholics’ initiative to publicly express their rejection was blocked by an administrative decision.
The president of Civitas Switzerland, Alain Späth, announced his intention to appeal the prohibition and raised the possibility of filing a criminal complaint for offense to religious convictions.
For their part, the festival organizers defended the screening of the film by appealing to artistic freedom of expression and rejected the accusations made by the Catholic association.
The film will reach Paris despite the protests
The Geneva controversy has not interrupted the international distribution of Hunky Jesus.
The documentary has been selected for the 32nd edition of the Chéries-Chéris festival, which will be held in Paris from November 14 to 24 and is dedicated to LGBTQIA+ cinema.
The film has also been part of the programming of the BFI Flare festival in London.
Its selection at international festivals not only expands the reach of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence‘ performances, but also provides them with a cultural showcase. The parodies of the Passion, the sexualization of the figure of Christ, and the caricature of consecrated nuns cease to be a local activist spectacle and are presented to new audiences as a cinematic proposal worthy of celebration.