"There are crimes, and there is love": MTV's advertisement calling for the repeal of Article 534 of the Lebanese Penal Code, which criminalizes "unnatural" relationships, aired on Sept. 2, 2023. (Screenshot X/@MTVLebanon.)
BEIRUT — There's a decent chance you've already seen it on TV or social media by now. Since its release by MTV on Saturday, the video has been circulating non-stop: two men stand next to each other in an elevator, then a third enters and stands in front of them. Their faces are outside the frame. The third man pulls a revolver from his jacket, waits for the elevator to reach his floor, then exits.
A message, in Arabic, appears on the screen, in reference to the gun: "There are crimes." Once the gun-toting man has left, the two others behind him hold one another's hands. "And there is love," the text on the screen continues. "For the repeal of Article 534 of the Lebanese Penal Code, which criminalizes homosexuality," the ad says, in a crystal clear message of support for LGBTQ+ rights.
Since its release, the video has sparked a wide range of reactions in Lebanon.
انطلاقاً من كلام قداسة البابا فرنسيس… المثليّة ليست جريمة. نعم لإلغاء المادة ٥٣٤ من قانون العقوبات التي تجرّم المثلية الجنسية#mtvlebanon pic.twitter.com/XWhVmJavXQ
— MTV Lebanon (@MTVLebanon) September 2, 2023
While many social media users praised MTV and thanked the channel for taking a pro-LGBTQ+ stance, others denounced it, calling same-sex relations "a crime that kills society." Some called for upholding Article 534, which criminalizes any so-called "unnatural" relationship, punishable by one year in prison and often used against LGBTQ+ individuals.
'Unconventional relationships will remain a crime'
"Wow wow wow! Bravo MTV, finally!" commented one social media user on MTV's Instagram page.
Some public officials, however, chimed in.
"Using the noble message of the media to pit components [of society] against each other and to incite hatred among the Lebanese is a crime," commented caretaker Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada on Saturday, in opposition to the ad.
التلطّي وراء رسالة الإعلام السامية لتحريض مكوّناتٍ على بعضها ولبثّ الفرقة بين اللبنانيين... جريمة،
— القاضي محمد وسام المرتضى وزير الثقافة (@JugeMMourtada) September 2, 2023
استيلاد اجواء الحرب الأهلية...جريمة،
تسويق فكرة التقسيم تحت عناوين الفدرلة و"لبنان الإتحادي"... جريمة،
واذا قطعنا الشك بيقين بأنّ المجرم يقوم بهذه الجرائم عن سبق اصرارٍ وتصميم… pic.twitter.com/q1iVkpeu28
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the minister continued: "Inciting civil war is a crime. Promoting division under the pretext of federation and a federal Lebanon is a crime. If it is established that a criminal committed his crimes intentionally and premeditatedly, for payment, and that he serves the Israeli agenda and its interests, then we are facing the most dangerous and despicable crime of treason. In this case, unconventional relationships will remain a crime. Very soon, the promotion of deviations will be subject to the most severe sanctions. Those who commit treason fall to the lowest depths of vice."
Promote homosexuality? 'No, but its decriminalization'
"It's saddening. Culture should be about open-mindedness," Walid Abboud, Director of Information at MTV, told L'Orient Today when asked about Mortada's comments.
"After everything that's happening in the country and the unprecedented anti-LGBTQ+ campaign by the ruling class, it was natural for us to broadcast this ad," Abboud said, adding that the video was a consensus within the entire editorial team.
"Some have twisted the message to say that we are promoting homosexuality, which is false," he said. "We are promoting the decriminalization of homosexuality."
Asked about some social media commenters who expressed surprise at MTV's apparent stance, Abboud responded: "Of course, these topics generate debate. But in the end, everyone here agrees with the message of the ad."
"All TV channels should take a similar stance," Jad Shahrour, a spokesperson at the SKeyes press freedom organization, told L'Orient Today. "We must acknowledge MTV's courage in taking this position, even if the channel's background is not particularly marked by support for LGBTQ+ issues," he added.
Altered version and 'shameful media'
Hezbollah's Al-Manar channel published an article on Tuesday with the headline: "MTV reaches an unprecedented level by promoting deviations and disregarding Lebanese society's values."
Another counter-attack came from a collective called "Project Muyul," which published a spoof of MTV's ad on Monday evening. 'There is a crime that kills a human being, and there is a crime that kills society. Yes to maintaining Article 534 and protecting societal and family values," their version of the ad read.
The parody was posted on the collective's Instagram account, which has only 617 followers, while its first post dates back to Aug. 20, 2023. The group also published a list of "shameful media, promoters of moral decadence," including MTV, Al Jadeed and LBCI, as well as the newspapers Al-Modon, Annahar and L'Orient-Le Jour. Muyul did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lebanon's LGBTQ+ community has been the target of repeated attacks in recent months, both by political and religious leaders. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called in late July for the "death penalty" for liwat [a derogatory term for homosexuality].
On Aug. 23, in the most recent escalation, around two dozen members of the "Soldiers of God," an extremist Christian group, attacked a bar in the Mar Mikhael neighborhood that was hosting a show by two Lebanese drag queens.
