A Norwegian pop star came out as gay in a new NSFW music video featuring simulated gay sex with a priest, and the Church of Norway is fuming.
Tooji, a Iranian-Norwegian singer living in Norway and a participant in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, came out when announcing the release of his new music video titled "The Father Project."
The video shows Tooji enter a church and proceed to have simulated sex with the priest in front of a congregation. But the Church of Norway is not pleased with Tooji's artistic choices. In a statement published Sunday, the bishop of Oslo condemned the video as a desecration.
"No matter what the video's message might be or who the artist might be, footage of intimate scenes in front of the altar is unacceptable, and it is an abuse of the church," he said in a Norwegian statement translated by The Huffington Post. "I was informed about the matter after they decided to rent out Frogner Church and had done the shoot. No matter what the content of the video might be, it is not acceptable to perform these types of scenes in front of the altar. It is a misuse of the holy room of the church."
The bishop added that this would hold true if a straight couple was featured in the same manner in the video.
"A scene shot between a man and a woman would also be unacceptable," he added. "What has happened breaks several rules of the church. Besides this, I would not comment any further on the matter."
Tooji is an advocate for equal rights. In a separate video, he spoke out against religious theology that claims God does not accept gay people.
"I want to stand out as an example and let my voice be heard for all those voices mute, for all those who feel ashamed with their beliefs, that are told that God doesn't accept them," he said. "Let me tell you: You are a part of God and what you have is the purest gift. Any love between two grown-up, consenting adults -- no matter gender, no matter race -- is pure ... I am gay and I stand up for my rights and that is why I made the video 'Father.'"