In a recent live, since-removed video, Christian YouTube creator Ruslan KD, who we’ve clashed with in the past on account of him giving passes to Modalists like Marcus Rogers, doubling down on dissing us over a John MacArthur/Julie Roys article and generally acting as an arrogant gatekeeping elitist (see postscript), took to task a commenter who pointed out that Lecrae had the propensity to watch some filthy TV shows, and as a result should not be revered as a sound teacher in the faith.
Ruslan quickly jumped to Lecrae’s defense and revealed that he himself watched the shows Snowfall and Ozark, that they were the best shows ever, and that taking a perspective of ‘all or nothing’ when it comes to shows with nudity is immature and childish.
Bro I watched Ozark and I watched Snowfall. So that sounds like you have an issue with media in general, it sounds like you have an issue with media in general. Right? So, like, again, all or nothing mentality. If you can’t enjoy a specific artist, well then don’t watch it. But if Lecrae says, ‘Hey, I’m into Ozark’- I’ve been transparent about being into Ozark. I think Snowfall is arguably one of the best shows on television.
The commenter points out that the show is filled with sex and nudity, and for that reason, it’s not appropriate for Christians to watch, but Ruslan burns down a strawman, retorting:
I never said there’s no sex and nudity; I’m saying you’re conflating with you disagreeing with on- if Lecrae has the permission or if I have the freedom to watch Ozark or Snowfall, which you know, by the way, you know what happens in Snowfall when I see those sorts of scenes, which I don’t remember the scene you’re talking about, but you know what happens when I see those types of scenes, you know what I do? I just fast-forward them. I know, right? You can just fast-forward those scenes if you don’t like those scenes, right? So again, this is the low level of thinking here. You don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. You disagree with Lecrae on if he should watch Ozark or Snowfall, so therefore you discard everything he’s ever done in his entire ministry.
By way of reference, not only is there tons of cursing in Ozark, between 20-50 F-bombs an episode and a fair amount of violence, the show is rife with sex scenes, including many graphic homosexual ones, resulting in it being rated 18+ in many countries. This is a show where less than three minutes into the very first episode, a semi-nude man receives oral sex and then starts thrusting into a woman, and the rest of the sexual content is consistent and persistent.
As per IMBD, some of the more egregious content includes: (warning, graphic descriptions ahead)
- …Brief nudity shown by an older woman during a short sex scene with a much younger man. As well as another casual sex scene with an unclothed couple (no nudity, covered by sheets).
- An email with an amateur porn video is sent and opened in one scene. The webcam video details sexual actions of a man and a woman from the back with only the buttocks shown. It is shown twice. The video is discussed between two men later on. It is played in multiple episodes. A man masturbates in his car and fantasizes about a prostitute giving him oral sex.
- A pregnant woman is seen pole dancing at a nightclub. Her breasts are clearly visible.
- An old man is walking down to the water naked, only his backside is shown with a towel covering the front. A nude poster is seen on the wall next to a door. A topless girl is seen in a bar. A homosexual oral sex scene takes place in a motel room, a man giving another man a blowjob and you hear him gargle and choke when the man ejaculates in the other guy’s mouth. No visible nudity.
- A stripper has sex with a man in a private room until a woman interrupts them, she can briefly be seen nude.
- A stripper is hired to seduce a man into having sex with her. She walks in and the stripper is wearing a strap on and the man is sucking on it. The man also appears to be wearing a bra and panties. A woman takes a video of this. She then shows it to the man’s wife.
- An elderly couple has sex in a darkly lit room. We see them thrusting and then we hear them orgasm and moan. We also see the woman’s breasts, but the man’s nudity is not seen by viewers.
- A man is seen masturbating while he’s listening to a dead man’s voice. A man and woman have sex in the bathroom of a bar, there is thrusting, moaning, and male rear nudity and female rear nudity but they are clothed.
For the record, it’s not just Ruslan who likes this, but Kyle J. Howard and Jackie Hill Perry have both watched the series and have shared their appreciation for it.
The other series is ‘Snowfall’, which also contains a ton of graphic sex and nudity and which Ruslan has watched through. This series has received cautions from both Common Sense Media and its IMBD page, who explain:
In fact, in the very first episode, within the first five minutes, a naked woman blows cocaine up a naked man’s backside, and then gives the man oral sex, before being joined by another woman for a threesome. In the first five minutes,* and Ruslan didn’t turn it off?
That’s the point. He kept on watching after that, knowing that this was setting the pace for the rest of the show. He has the world of entertainment at his fingertips, millions of books, films and art over the millennia, and this is what his heart gravitated towards? If that’s the first five minutes of the first episode, we can’t even imagine what sort of filth is in the four other seasons.
It’s almost as bad as the time Senior Editor of The Gospel Coalition, Brett McCracken, shared that his Favorite TV Show Contains a Graphic Homosexual Sex Scene. It’s shameful stuff, but Ruslan sees nothing wrong with it, and continues doubling down, even as someone asked if Christians could watch Game of Thrones with the same attitude- just fast-forward through all the gratuitous nudity even though it won’t stop you from catching a naked breast here or some naked thrusting there, given how flawed the strategy is.
Ozark is brilliant. I watched all the seasons. And when there was something sus(pect) in Ozark I fast- forwarded them, right? So, no, I’ve never watched Game of Thrones, but you’re missing the point. Like, you’re really missing the point. (Unintelligible) I’m just really trying to hear him out, I think I’m done.
I mean, you got pastors in here saying Ozark is so good-storytelling and cinematography, but I’m sure he probably thinks you’re a bad Christian or you’re not really saved or something. So we’re gonna get him out of here. He dead. He dead.
Editor’s Note* Also, we have not personally watched that scene from Snowfall, or any scenes from Snowfall, but two independent sources have verified that it’s there. We do not watch any terrible films or shows we criticize, but curate the content from various sources.
Bonus
