Pat Robertson blasts ‘SNL’ Tim Tebow, Jesus skit
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Televangelist Pat Robertson was not laughing at a skit on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” last weekend that included a Jesus character, played by Jason Sudeikis, telling pro football player and outspoken Christian Tim Tebow to “take it down a notch.”
Robertson, who’s quick to criticize Hollywood entertainment and pop culture, said the comedy sketch is part of “the anti-Christian bigotry in this country that’s just disgusting.”
“If this had been a Muslim country and they had done that and had Muhammad doing that stuff, you would have found bombs being thrown off and bodies on the street,” he said.
Robertson made his comments on the Christian Broadcast Network, where he’s been a regular fixture for decades. The video snippet was first posted on Mediaite.
Tebow, quarterback for the Denver Broncos, “ought to be applauded,” Robertson said, for publicly expressing his faith at a time when the country’s “losing our moral compass.”
The skit, also starring Andy Samberg and Taran Killem, took place in the Broncos’ locker room, where Jesus showed up to tell the team to step up its game. “I’m doing all the work here,” said Sudeikis’ Jesus.
When Tebow said he consulted the Bible before games, the Jesus character suggested he add the playbook to his reading list.
The comedy bit has gathered more than 2 million views on YouTube as of Tuesday afternoon and has become a viral hit since airing on Saturday.
Robertson wasn’t the only one who took offense — Bob Beckel, speaking on Fox News’ “The Five,” called the sketch “despicable.”
“First of all, it’s despicable to display Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior, like that on ‘Saturday Night Live’ and they should be ashamed of themselves,” Beckel said. “And the fact that this keeps drawing attention to Tebow and Christianity and faith and Jesus and they make it into some sort of a commercial operation … there’s nothing funny about that.”
Tebow himself, an active Twitter user who often posts about his faith, hasn’t commented on the hubbub.
Both clips — the ‘SNL’ skit and Robertson’s reaction — are below.
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— T.L. Stanley