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Photograph from @phillyjesus
It’s the Second Coming of Philly Jesus. Our very own robe-wearing, cross-carrying Son of God is back at Christmas Village after a year-long hiatus from his usual haunts (Love Park, City Hall, the Walnut St. Chipotle, to name a few). The subject of our 7th-grade half-day selfies (and really, not much else) was perhaps not exactly cherished by the city, but his absence was certainly felt. What’s the point of walking through Love Park if someone doesn’t try to convert you?
For those of you who are unfamiliar, Philly Jesus is a street character constructed by 28-year-old Micheal Grant, a recovered heroin addict who’s been dressing as Jesus for the past five years or so—up until last year, that is. He performs “baptisms” in the Love Park fountain, makes a semiweekly pilgrimage through North Philadelphia while bearing a cross, and takes dozens of photos with tourists throughout the day. Despite some odd stunts—like his 2016 Apple Store arrest and that one time in 2015 when he tried to raise $70 million dollars—in person, he’s friendly, if a bit scattered. His disappearance, however, no one saw coming.
As it turns out, Philly Jesus reportedly took a year off to “reflect on the message he was putting out there in the name of Jesus,” as he told a local blog Philly Chit Chat in April. He told the same reporter that he met the love of his life—while dressed as Philly Jesus, in fact— and is ready to “settle down, and start a family.” The biggest cause for his sudden disappearance, however, was a “misstep… of judgment” which caused a public “backlash.” This was the first I’d heard of any sort of emphatic negative response to Philly Jesus-—actually, the first I’d heard of any sort of public opinion at all on PJ, beyond vague amusement. What was this “miss step”? What did he do to generate “backlash”?
The so-called “backlash” may be linked to certain homophobic posts on PJ’s social media. It’s not the first time he’s been criticized for his unaccepting beliefs. As Philly Magazine reported, in July 2015 Philly Jesus posted messages supporting a local gay pride parade, but quickly took those down and replaced them with anti-gay sentiments. As it turns out, Philly Jesus is also anti-a-lot-of-other-things. His social media is littered with xenophobic, homophobic, and anti-choice messages. And he’s not ashamed, either: this past July, one Twitter user tweeted “dammit philly jesus is homophobic.” It was promptly re-tweeted by PJ himself.
Philly Jesus certainly has more Instagram followers than spiritual ones, posting a mix of religious proselytization interspersed with the occasional event from his personal life (my personal favorite: “i AM THE CUTEST PUMPKiN🎃 iN THE PATCH!!”) His Instagram page is bizarre and confusing. For instance, he takes care to write all his letter i’s in lowercase. Why? It’s not clear. A lot about his Instagram is not easily understood. Why does he post 10 slides of the same exact photo, in which he tags himself every time? What’s going on? Does any of this make sense?
I soon found myself in a rabbit hole of Philly Jesus web postings, discovering that PJ has many more opinions, all of which he feels obligated to share with his online followers. On top of his hateful posts, Philly Jesus is full of contradictions. Though he claimed to have found the love of his life, he told a Philadelphia Daily News reporter in a recent article that “A lot of women love Jesus… I definitely pick up a lot of chicks.” But what surprised me most was his declaration that he is not at all religious.”Make sure they know I’m not religious,” he told the Philadelphia Daily News. “Tell them I hate [organized] religion.” Is this coming from the same man who dresses as Jesus for a so-called career? Yes, yes it is. I can’t even begin to explain that one.
I contacted Victor Fiorillo, a Senior Reporter at Philadelphia Magazine, to learn more about the man behind the robes. Mr. Fiorillo has written several articles about Philly Jesus in the past few years, conducting phone interviews to cover issues such as his 2016 Apple Store arrest and homophobic tweets. As he sees it, Philly Jesus is “attention-starved,” and Mr. Fiorillo has made a “conscious decision” to lay off reporting on PJ. Any further attention he receives is just “feeding the troll, so to speak.” I have to agree—maybe it’s time we lay off the with the photos and selfies. I think Mr. Fiorillo sums it up best: “[These characters] are sort of amusing for what they are, even if what they are isn’t great.”
I went to Christmas Village this past weekend to see the PJ in the flesh (my own doubting Thomas moment?). There he was: robed, bearded, and dancing emphatically with a drum-playing Elmo (the bizarre spectacle was dubbed a “ SATURDAY NiGHT LiVE SERViCE” that night on Instagram). My Voices editors (and my Mom) cautioned me against speaking with him in person, and I agreed, opting to pass on interrupting a moment so pious. I kept my distance for a number of reasons, though. Although Philly Jesus preaches love for all, the all-holy also charges by the photo. I was running low on cash, and as a recent Instagram post warns, “A pic with PJ is only a $20 dollar💵 donation!”
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