Many viewers who follow The History Channel’s miniseries “The Bible” were caught off guard by Sunday’s episode. In what some say was a publicity stunt, an actor with an uncanny resemblance to President Barack Obama was cast as the devil. Some of the people offended by the similarities took to Twitter to claim the actor, Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, was specifically cast for the role to take a jab at President Obama.
However, the show’s producers, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, say they respect our president, and that the comparisons are foolish. Burnett may have been a supporter of Obama in the past, as he donated to the President’s campaign in 2008 and the Democratic National Convention in 2009; however, he also produces Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice”. (We all know how Mr. Trump feels about the President Barack Obama)
After receiving the negative backlash from the episode, the History Channel decided to clear up this mess. A statement from the network says:
“HISTORY channel has the highest respect for President Obama. The series was produced with an international and diverse cast of respected actors. It’s unfortunate that anyone made this false connection. HISTORY’s ‘The Bible’ is meant to enlighten people on its rich stories and deep history.”
“This is utter nonsense. The actor who played Satan, Mehdi Ouzaani, is a highly acclaimed Moroccan actor,” says Burnett and Downey. “He has previously played parts in several Biblical epics– including Satanic characters long before Barack Obama was elected as our President.”
Downey adds, “Both Mark and I have nothing but respect and love our President, who is a fellow Christian. False statements such as these are just designed as a foolish distraction to try and discredit the beauty of the story of The Bible.”
Watch the trailer for “The Bible” below:
