Indonesian TikToker Jailed for telling Jesus picture on phone to cut his hair

A transgender social media influencer in Indonesia has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison after a livestreamed remark about a religious image triggered backlash.

Ratu Thalisa, a popular TikToker with over 442,000 followers, was responding to a viewer's comment urging her to cut her hair to appear more masculine. 

In a lighthearted exchange, she jokingly addressed an image of Jesus on her phone, suggesting that he, too, needed a haircut.

This seemingly casual comment led to serious legal consequences. On Monday, a court in Medan, Sumatra, found Thalisa guilty of violating Indonesia’s controversial hate speech laws. 

She was sentenced to two years and ten months in prison on charges of blasphemy, with the court ruling that her words could disrupt public order and religious harmony.

The case gained momentum after several Christian groups filed complaints, citing religious offense. However, human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have strongly condemned the verdict, arguing that it infringes on freedom of expression.

Originally introduced in 2008 and amended in 2016, the EIT Law was designed to regulate online activity, but it has increasingly been used to prosecute individuals for defamation and religious blasphemy. Amnesty International reports that between 2019 and 2024, at least 560 people were charged under the law, with 421 convicted—many for comments related to religion.

Thalisa’s case is unusual, as most blasphemy prosecutions in Indonesia have involved allegations against Islam. In recent years, other social media users have faced similar charges, including a woman who was sentenced to two years in prison after posting a TikTok video where she recited an Islamic phrase before eating pork.