Larry David Blasted for 'Curb' Episode Where He Urinates on Jesus Painting
Comedian Larry David is under attack from critics who say he pushed the mocking of religion and Christian belief in miracles over the edge in the latest episode of his HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm," which the cable network defended as "playful."
On the show's most recent installment, which aired Sunday, David urinates on a painting of Jesus Christ, causing a woman to believe the painting depicts Jesus crying.
Deal Hudson, author and publisher of InsideCatholic.com, said he doesn't find any humor in the episode.
"I don't think it's funny," Hudson told Foxnews.com. "Why is it that people are allowed to publicly show that level of disrespect for Christian symbols? If the same thing was done to a symbol of any other religions -- Jewish or Muslim -- there'd be a huge outcry. It's simply not a level playing field."
Hudson said an apology from the show's producers and writing team should be issued.
"Somebody should [apologize]," Hudson said. "When is it going to stop? When is common sense going to dictate that people realize this willingness of artists to do to Christianity what they would never do to Judaism or Islam?"
In a statement to Foxnews.com, HBO downplayed the controversy.
"Anyone who follows Curb Your Enthusiasm knows that the show is full of parody and satire," the statement read. "Larry David makes fun of everyone, most especially himself. The humor is always playful and certainly never malicious."
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, also criticized the episode, saying David should "quit while he's ahead," and that the show is proof that the comedian's best years are behind him.
"Was Larry David always this crude? Would he think it's comedic if someone urinated on a picture of his mother?" Donohue said in a statement. "This might be fun to watch, but since HBO only likes to dump on Catholics (it was just a couple of weeks ago that Sarah Silverman insulted Catholics on 'Real Time with Bill Maher') and David is Jewish, we'll never know."
During Sunday's episode, David, who created, wrote and produced "Seinfeld," visits a bathroom in his assistant's home and splatters urine on a picture of Jesus. Instead of wiping it off, David leaves the restroom. Minutes later, David's assistant enters the bathroom and concludes that Jesus is crying. She then summons her mother to the bathroom, where both women kneel in prayer.
"When David and Jerry Seinfeld (playing himself) are asked if they ever experienced a miracle, David answers, 'every erection is a miracle,' Donohue's statement continued. "That's what passes for creativity these days."
The episode, "The Bare Midriff," primarily revolves around David's assistant and her belly-revealing attire. According to the show's Web site, a "new pill" increased David's urine flow, leading to the "misunderstanding about a miraculously weeping Jesus."
HBO promoted the controversial scene on the show's site, complete with a "squirm-o-meter" that ranked the urine incident ahead of David's confronting his assistant about her exposed midriff.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2009/10/28/catholic-league-bla...
On the show's most recent installment, which aired Sunday, David urinates on a painting of Jesus Christ, causing a woman to believe the painting depicts Jesus crying.
Deal Hudson, author and publisher of InsideCatholic.com, said he doesn't find any humor in the episode.
"I don't think it's funny," Hudson told Foxnews.com. "Why is it that people are allowed to publicly show that level of disrespect for Christian symbols? If the same thing was done to a symbol of any other religions -- Jewish or Muslim -- there'd be a huge outcry. It's simply not a level playing field."
Hudson said an apology from the show's producers and writing team should be issued.
"Somebody should [apologize]," Hudson said. "When is it going to stop? When is common sense going to dictate that people realize this willingness of artists to do to Christianity what they would never do to Judaism or Islam?"
In a statement to Foxnews.com, HBO downplayed the controversy.
"Anyone who follows Curb Your Enthusiasm knows that the show is full of parody and satire," the statement read. "Larry David makes fun of everyone, most especially himself. The humor is always playful and certainly never malicious."
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, also criticized the episode, saying David should "quit while he's ahead," and that the show is proof that the comedian's best years are behind him.
"Was Larry David always this crude? Would he think it's comedic if someone urinated on a picture of his mother?" Donohue said in a statement. "This might be fun to watch, but since HBO only likes to dump on Catholics (it was just a couple of weeks ago that Sarah Silverman insulted Catholics on 'Real Time with Bill Maher') and David is Jewish, we'll never know."
During Sunday's episode, David, who created, wrote and produced "Seinfeld," visits a bathroom in his assistant's home and splatters urine on a picture of Jesus. Instead of wiping it off, David leaves the restroom. Minutes later, David's assistant enters the bathroom and concludes that Jesus is crying. She then summons her mother to the bathroom, where both women kneel in prayer.
"When David and Jerry Seinfeld (playing himself) are asked if they ever experienced a miracle, David answers, 'every erection is a miracle,' Donohue's statement continued. "That's what passes for creativity these days."
The episode, "The Bare Midriff," primarily revolves around David's assistant and her belly-revealing attire. According to the show's Web site, a "new pill" increased David's urine flow, leading to the "misunderstanding about a miraculously weeping Jesus."
HBO promoted the controversial scene on the show's site, complete with a "squirm-o-meter" that ranked the urine incident ahead of David's confronting his assistant about her exposed midriff.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2009/10/28/catholic-league-bla...
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Comment by Jake on October 29, 2009 at 12:48pm -
To assert that the show has only made fun of Christians, and that no other faith has ever gotten it's fair share of ridicule is ridiculous. Several times in the past the show has also poked fun at Judaism, Muslims, and other such religions.
Besides, what's wrong with pointing out how ridiculous the idea is that a picture could cry? Or how quickly people are to believe that something is a miracle, simply because you don't immediately understand how it happened? Most of these things, as with the "miracle" in the show, has a very reasonable explanation, if people would only take a moment to stop and think about the situation.
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Comment by Nelson on October 29, 2009 at 2:22pm -
it's totally ridiculous to assert that David "urinates on Jesus" as if David sets a picture of Jesus in the toilet and voids his bladder all over the image; and that's exactly the implication being made when people use the phrase "urinates on Jesus". the people most up in arms are those who have no doubt not seen the segment in question and so have the impression that David urinates on a picture of Jesus while laughing maniacally probably while saying, "first we (the Jews) crucified you and now we're urinating on you!". give me a break. a single drop of urine splashes up from the toilet and hits an image of Jesus that's hanging on the wall.
a couple of questions come to mind here. one is why would anyone think it appropriate to put a picture of "the risen lord" in the room where people defecate and the second is why anyone thinks that their cherished beliefs should be cherished by everyone. if i cherished your beliefs then they'd be my beliefs! but they're not and so i won't.
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Comment by Shine on October 29, 2009 at 2:37pm -
I stand by my assertion that the quickest way to remedy this is for next episdoe to have Larry poo on a menorah and wipe himself with a Muslim prayer rug.
Lol, Nelson, I said the same thing; how sacred can an object really be if one choses to showcase next to a receptacle for fecal matter?
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Comment by Nelson on October 29, 2009 at 2:48pm
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exactly Shine!
i recall the Mythbusters episode where they tested how dirty our toothbrushes get from sitting in the bathroom. they ended up finding that there exists an apparent radius of contamination from the toilet outward where fecal coliform bacteria got on the toothbrushes and, presumably, all over every surface. that means that a picture of Jesus in the bathroom gets covered with fecal coliform bacteria without the help of Larry David. :)
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Comment by Morgan Matthew on October 29, 2009 at 2:57pm -
lol this is a classic.
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Comment by Sophie on October 29, 2009 at 9:26pm -
I laughed uncontrollably!
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Comment by Shine on October 29, 2009 at 10:04pm
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Nelson, I remember that episode; even though my bathroom is clean and my toothbrush is tucked away in a cabinet, I still had to brush my teeth in the kitchen for a week after watching it, lol.
To think this whole that they have been pooing on Jesus! If anything, Larry's errant pee was probably wiping the Lord's face clean.
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Comment by Nelson on October 30, 2009 at 1:40am
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@Shine: LOL! the pee wipes the face of Jesus clean of poo!
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