Jesus TV Show Actors Defend Pride Flag on Set After Calls to Boycott

Actors from The Chosen have united in defense of a Pride flag on set after conservative Christians boycotted the religious television show.

Boycotts of organizations becoming involved in social issues—particularly in the LGBTQ+ community—have started to earnestly take hold after vocal outrage to a partnership between transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light. The boycotts have grown to include Target, Kohl's, The North Face and PetSmart, with conservatives encouraging their acquaintances to continue boycotting the companies as many have seen a decrease in sales and stock prices. Boycotts are expected to continue through June as companies offer LGBTQ+ merchandise for Pride month.

Companies have responded in myriad ways. Some, like that from Bud Light, only worsened the outrage because it neither apologized for the partnership or supported the LGBTQ+ community. Actors from The Chosen are opting for a different approach, with several of the cast members standing together in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Chosen was the first multiseason series to portray the life and ministry of Jesus. The show, available on Netflix and other streaming platforms, is creating its fourth season and has a rating of 9.3 out of 10 on IMDb. Calls to boycott the show began spreading on social media after self-proclaimed Christian Jon Root spotted the flag display in a set photo and called out the series on Twitter.

After an onslaught of tweets from Root targeting the show and condemning the actors for "sexual immorality" and "radical, evil gender ideology on vulnerable children," actors began publicly defending the Pride flag and the LGBTQ+ community. Root specifically targeted one of the show's film staff for wearing a Pride shirt on set while also claiming he wished "no ill will" to the staff member.

Giavani Cairo, who plays Thaddeus in the series, spoke out against the criticism.

"Another one of the actors on The Chosen here. Anyone who is going to go at one of our family members for something like this, is no fan of ours," Cairo tweeted in response to a Twitter account advocating for the boycott. "They can close the door on the way out "Love one another as I have loved you""

Jordan Ross, the actor who portrays Little James, also stood up for the LGBTQ+ community. Ross specifically called out Root for the verbal attacks against members of the cast.

"My brother @GCairo06 isn't the only one who stands by the LGBTQ members of our Chosen family," Ross tweeted on Wednesday. "get outta here with your hate, homophobia and ignorance. Not very Jesus-like of you, Jonny."

"We've made it clear from the beginning we don't have a religious or political litmus test for who can work on our show," Dallas Jenkins, creator of The Chosen, told Newsweek in a statement Friday. "I love our cast and crew, especially because even though they all come from different backgrounds and beliefs, they work their butts off for the show and the viewers. The show's official stance on anything is to be found in the content of the show."

The Chosen TV Twitter account also responded to Root's condemnation of the Pride flag on set, informing Root that the show's purpose was to show viewers the "authentic Jesus."

"Just like with our hundreds of cast and crew who have different beliefs (or no belief at all) than we do, we will work with anyone on our show who helps us portray or honor the authentic Jesus. We ask that audiences let the show speak for itself and focus on the message, not the messenger, because we'll always let you down," the show tweeted at Root in response.

Root also mentioned in several tweets that his more than 15,000 followers should pray for staff involved with the show.

Update 6/2/23, 11:52 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from The Chosen creator Dallas Jenkins.