Filipino drag queen fights for freedom to express faith after ‘getting hate’ for dressing as Jesus, singing prayer

When Filipino drag queen Amadeus Fernando Pagente dressed up as Jesus Christ and sang the Lord’s Prayer in a Manila show, he considered it an expression of his Catholic faith.

But then a video of the performance went viral in July last year and ignited outrage among the country’s many devout, who saw it as a blasphemous act deserving of jail or even death.

Pagente was charged with the offence of “immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions and indecent shows” that “offend any race or religion”, and could face up to 12 years in jail.

The 33-year-old, who uses he, she and they pronouns, was declared persona non grata in multiple cities and was flooded with hate messages and death threats on social media.