What a week to be Tooji! Yesterday he released his new single “Father” and he came out as gay. A day later his steamy music video, which features an intimate scene between two men in front of the church altar, already has more than 120,000 views on YouTube.
The same-sex throwdown in front of the nave has created quite a stir, especially with religious leaders at the Church of Norway, who lent out Frogner Church for the filming. The Church of Norway now claims that some scenes — presumably the fleshy ones of Tooji riding a religious leader — do not fully correspond to those in the project description.
In a statement realeased on the Norwegian Church’s web site, Norway’s bishop is quick to point his outrage stems from the portrayal of the nave, not the fact the scene involves same-sex relations. “The nave should never be used as a visual backdrop for sexual scenes in a commercial production,” he writes. “A similar scene between a man and a woman would be equally unacceptable.”
NRK axes Tooji as host of MGP JR
At the same time, NRK has let Tooji go from his role hosting the junior version of Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix. Tooji claims he was fired whereas NRK frames it more gently: The explicit scenes of “The Father Project” seem somewhat incompatible with hosting a singing contest for children and teens. #obviously.
Tooji on coming out
And in the middle of this brouhaha, Tooji has released a passionate speech on his YouTube channel called “Human Rights Above Religion”. Tooji gets very personal, detailing both the situation in developed countries (i.e. Norway) and the state of affairs in his place of birth, Iran.
Tooji explains the reasoning behind his coming out, saying that he wants to help support young people who do not feel a lot of support, and also articulates what he is trying to say in “Father.”
“You are a part of God”, he proclaims. He does not bash religion, but criticizes it as a body integrated into the state and given the power to determine what is right and wrong in society based on questionable interpretations of scripture.
The fact is that whether we are referring to the Abrahamic god of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism or to polytheistic faiths, religion is meant to console others and provide meaning for personal struggle. To pick and choose small phrases to justify mass persecution is both an insult to the entire meaning of any religion as well as what the scripture truly represents. This is the power of Tooji’s message and his video for “Father”. He seeks self-acceptance within religion, but will not tolerate how a few people misconstrue it for their own sociopathy.
Reactions have been strong — everything from support to complete disgust to apathy to others claiming “we already knew it”. This is a tremendous moment for Tooji and shows how the power of music and art can generate real discussion and debate.
What do you think of the reaction to Tooji’s music video?
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1. Everyone’s got different beliefs. I’m gonna believe mines are better than yours. Mario-So-Not-Hetro-Disco-Boogie-Conchita-Loving-Firestorm-From-San-Marino has different beliefs. Nott has different beliefs. So what!? We’re never going to agree with anything outside of peace, unity, and who’d Australia send next year. Drop the faith bashing! 2. I KNEW TOOJI WAS GAY ever since i watched MGP Jr. 2014 ( #online! ) and his presenting personality caught my attention. The feathers on his outfit, his hair, the way he talked, the way he spoke in italics the whole time… Lots of signs. Glad that h ed freed himself. Only if Marija Serifovic… Read more »
He sounds like Conchita.
@Fire After reading the wiki about Breivik the link of his actions with the decay of Church of Norway is not as wild as you say. He has extreme views against Islam and Muslims, criticise all the other religions of the world yet wants an European religion that would unify back Catholicism and Protestantism. In my opinion this happens when the sets of moral values (of religions) disappear in a society and more and more people make their owns. Which, again in my opinion, is a threat for communities, nations, states. You say that moral values can be created outside… Read more »
There are people that are so brainwashed by their religion that they actually truly believe that..
With just praying to their god they will be able to heal themselfs from cancer/serious life threatening injuries/ etc..
If there was truly a real god….He just couldn’t care less about gays & if homosexuals wanted to get married..
Stop believing in an imaginary fake made up god..
The only real god in our lifes is just OURSELFS..
@ Well keep your delusional opinion for yourself *Nott*..
And stop thinking that you have the right with your side because you do NOTT..
Just shut up & do not refer to me..
I have my own opinion as you have your own sh*tty one too..
So just stay out of my territory & mind your own business..
xx
@Keysaa
Isn’t loving and accepting others is part of every religion?
The problem with you religious people is that you think you know everything better than God. Nobody chooses to be gay, they are just born this way.
And maybe there is a reason for this?
How is it your business (or government’s) to decide something so personal about the lives of others, when it does not harm anyone? Das ist wirklich unglaublich!
And don’t you think that we are all entitled for being loved, and a family?
People like you really disgust me.
Fair enough Robyn, it could’ve just avoided some drama by doing something like that.because I don’t know if any church would be too happy to allow them to film those scenes if they knew about it.
In any case, it looks pretty awesome 😛
Wow so many people going cray in here.
I love everything about the video <3 Yet I wonder why they couldn't just build the set of a church and film it like that rather than in an actual church? Would have caused less of an issue and the message of the video could be transmitted without this dark cloud hanging over it I guess.
In any case, I still love it <3 Go Tooji <3
@keysaa
All of us here were just waiting for you to tell us what’s normal and what’s not. Tell me, are you authorized for issuing normality certificates? Where could we apply for one? #sarcasm
Literally fck outta here with all of you disagreeing with this video!! It’s freaking amazing!!! Church been bashing you homosexuals since jesus was fxcking born and now y’all wanna tell me this video is disrespectful??! Foh tooij: get that holy d wherever and whenever you want baby!!!!!
Change the hair tho
I like Tooji, I liked his entry in 2012 and I’m glad he finally came out. But he has to be aware that shooting a sex scene would cause this kind of reaction – the same way a similar scene between a heterosexual couple would. I think there could have been different artistic ways to do fight for the cause he wants to promote. I also have to admit it’s difficult for me to recall the song – all I can remember from this video is Tooji having sex in a church.
Congratulations to Tooji for his coming out. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. This is the second song of him that I hear and I have to say that Tooji lacks of originality. In his Eurovision performance he was a wannabe Eric Saade an in that video he is a wannabe Hozier. I’m sorry to say that, but this video is a bad copy of “Take me to church”.
It was a bit too much to be honest…
I don’t really like this video. First of all I don’t think that it makes much sense. There is a priest, there is Trooji, at the beginning they fight, then they f*ck, and all the people in the church are watching and are happy about that. Where is the point? They could have made it as well in a supermarket and f*ck in front of the butchers stand. In that case they wouldn’t offend anyone. And that’s the point. They want to offend. And that is something I don’t agree with. I, as a gay person that I am, expect… Read more »
I agree with what Tooji was doing, but it wasn’t the best way to go about it in my opinion. I mean he has a very good point to make but it was hardly subtle. Sexy, but not subtle.
I gotta admit that I understand both the church and NRK. I think Tooji went a step too far, it’s just pure provocation.
How come you’re still allowed to post your delusional sh*t on this site?
I thought William (or whoever is responsible for that) would do something about it, too bad that ain’t true. I really hoped you’d disappear once and for all.
Mods, could you please bring some much-needed order to your website?
OK…So i want to clear this sh*t out… WE are ANIMALS…We humans are just only evolved from our 1st cousins animals… Millions years ago we were just like them… ALL the animals were evolved.. We just lost our fur… We learned to walk on two limbs/feets.. We learned to communicate with voice talking.. And our faces differ with each other because of oue evolution only.. YES we are apes-chimpanzees-monkeys unfortunately…Believe it or not & we have to deal with it.. We are definitely not heavenly creatures or real ‘humans’ as we want to belive but only a race/specie of a… Read more »
I can understand the the bishop reacts. The video clip shows disespct to the chruch, and Christian symbols. And Tooji broke the appointment with the church.
Sorry Tooji…but this was not a clever move!
@ Well homo with homophobic that i called you really makes difference..
And no i will not accept anything from a messed up person like you about my persona..
Im done with dealing with you..
You have to feel lucky that the admins did not ban you from the site..
xx
@Julian Moral values don’t have to come from the bible, it can be taught. Associating the Breivik case with the decay of religion (Christianity) in Norway is beyond ridiculous. Conversely, irreligious countries are generally happier and richer. The same can be observed comparing different state in the US.
To have sex in front of an altar is wrong. Whether you are heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual/pansexual, white, black, asian, atheist..it is wrong.
This song is also REALLY bad. It’s like a sad attempt at dubstep. The song is not the reason why it has so many views, that’s for sure. However I shall try and remain positive and yay once again for Tooji who had the courage to come out publicly.
Wiki says and @Fire confirms that Church of Norway is strongly decaying, its priests by @Fire description seem more like building administrators. As result of this decay it is no longer a state church from 2012. The constitution still requires the reigning monarch to be of Lutheran faith but increasingly this seems to be not logical. Losing its national church not sure how strong monarchy is and could be in the future either. This loss of moral values should be of concern of Norwegians, remember Breivik case, why such a thing could happen in Norway. Religions will always exist and… Read more »
Crazy world …….
This is disgusting ..All these idiots who make fun of Christianity will be punished one day . This propaganda turns into madness …
@ FIRE —> ( @ ^ — )
Agree….Well written…Yeah the norwegians will not make a fuzz at all about Tooji filming shooting soft gay p*rn 4 his videoclip in that church..
Churches 4 Norwegians definitely do not have the same sacred precious value that they have with most of the other religious christians countries..
@ Keysaa No you are so wrong about your views…They only real true religion is Islam.. That their own marriages are to sell their adolescent young daughters like animalls to very old men that could be their grandfathers so they will become their wifes…And of course they are raped/abused/killed by their husbands.. And of course these marriages are not done because of true love.. ?hat is the sacred real marriage… With the same sceptic a fanatic muslim in Iraq/Afganistan will answer you with the same point of view as you did to Deban.. How will you be able to prove… Read more »
Most people don’t realise that religion in Norway, and Scandinavia in general, is unimportant for most people. Churches in Scandinavia serve more as a place for trandition rather than practising beliefs. Most churces will allow various community events to be held inside, such as semester closing/graduation ceremonies, concerts, and of course video filming. When I was in school we have people singing Bieber or Swift on ceremonies and no one would raise an eyebrow. If anything Tooji should have been more transparent about the shooting, and then out of repect for the true believers, the church probably would have said… Read more »
@ Hippo
And when actually i have written that we should beat or harm religious people??
Like seriously give me a break that you put so unjustifiably words in my mouth thinking your own problematic view..
Just enough with the nonsense..
You all should remember, that this is all about music.
Forget the religions and politics. It’s music with message of freedom.
keysaa, ok don’t get children of your own then but adopt one cause there are thousands of children from all over the world waiting to be adopted
Artist have an artistic vision about his music. He knows, what he wants, and what’s the problem with that? It’s jealousy. Tooji was really brave, when he did this music video, as a message to all people, who are jealous and old-fashioned. No religions. No wars. Thanks Tooji!
A church is a community of people with religious beliefs, They make the real church and build places of worship. The leaders of cults that allow filming of videoclips of anysort have lost their way and misread what most religions preach. Whining afterwords is just pointless.
ok you people don’t understand the meaning of the word liberty so here you go, fresh off Google which you could have looked at if it was going to be that difficult for you to comprehend:
lib·er·ty
?lib?rd?/
noun
1.
the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.
With that being said, I don’t think he should’ve done it without the church’s consent.
1. Who gave them the right to make this videoclip in a church?! 2. Very blasphemic video! In front of an altar in a church!! Unbelieveable! This is not fair towards honest Christians. Sick kind to hurt people and their faith. 3. In this video, sex replaces god & its altar. So the people in front of the altar, sitting on the banks, do worship homo-propaganda by praising sexual instinct and not God! I think people are going to lose their brains so they do not think of what is sin or even the sense of our life and they… Read more »
THOSE DIABOLIC PLANTS!!!! EVIL VINES!!!!
@Deban Aderemi: Ha Ha you wanna explain me what LIBERTY is?! The world and it’s diabolic plants do not offer LIBERTY, they create the hell on earth – already, for instance gay marriage and adoption of those little innocent children which should belong to real families. Gay love is sick. Religion frees us from sexual instinct & tells to stay chaste and to wait for sex – the right sex between man & woman in marriage. Though there are negative examples in religions, especially in the church, negative biographies do not throttle our Christian Moral! Jesus is the truth, the… Read more »
@ Keysaa, you better get ready to move to Yemen when Hamburg legalizes gay marriage ruul ruul soon.
I’m sorry to say, but you can’t stop the high tide of liberation.
Full Stop.
@ mario, do you realise how ridiculous you sound right now. “kill religion “. Does that include beating up people of faith and letting authorities turn a blind eye? Does it include banning “pro religious propaganda “? You’re sounding just as extreme as Putin and all these other “oppressors of human rights “.
@ Of course 😉 They told the church’s bishop/priest that they would use the church to film shoot another project obviously… 🙂 I really do not think that they would let them use the church if hey they would tell them that they wanted to film/shoot a soft gay p**n videoclip 😛 hehe {i censor the word with ** because it has filter & my comment will not pass..(naughty words like f**k, p**n, d**k,etc have filter here 4 the record) Can you imagine IF the bishop would tell them that he would want to be present while they would filming… Read more »
Attention seeker, plain and simple. Just trying to pick a fight it seems. Respect all round is the key, fair enough he’s gay but he should respect the church rather than going out of his way to cause trouble.
blasphemic…nothing else! This is not fair towards Religion, because you all don’t understand that we christians safe the dignity of homosexuals, but that we forbid sexual acts between homosexuals. homosexuals, in my opinion, should stay “clean” and chaste instead of following their sexual instinct. Family and marriage belong to man & woman and nothing else…or what’s your explanation for the fact that only man & woman can become a child naturally…?! And god as well as sciences (biology ? Evolution) are on my side! And of course, I do NOT accept violence towards homosexuals, because homophobia helps homosexuals to pretend… Read more »
@Liam Apparently he didn’t tell the church in his filming plans.
RELIGION is the cause 4 al the problems in our world… We have to kill it as soon as possible in order to save ourselfs.. This procedure of killing has already started to take place.. Especially in a country like Norway that it is full of non religious-atheists- or just spirituals agnostics.. Personally i define myself as atheist-spiritual.. Mainly the only social group in Norway that still believes in religion ARE the immigrants from 3rd world or poor countries from muslim asia or africa.. And few/some ignorant norwegians that mostly are elderly people.. The young generation of Norway has NOT… Read more »
Yes, it’s controversial and rightly so. In saying that, it is exactly what Tooji wanted to achieve with this video.
They would have been better off in Frogner Park, there are a load of homoerotic statues there.
Slay Tooji <3
Why would the church even allow such scenes to be shot inside the church, right infront of the altar !?
@ homophobic Maltish/Goran
This thing that you kinda mocking me having the alternate version of my own Gay Vision is not cool at all..
And it was you that you were doing this from the start as i have realized..
I guess that it was you that you were posting under these different nicknames insulting me..
At least find your own nickname and stop imitating mine with derogatory meaning..
I do not care really but its annoying..
Fool me once…Shame on you..
Fool me twice…Shame on me..
I’m just done with you…xx
Norway is so full of homophobes.