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Brooklyn Diocese Demands 'Immediate Public Apology' From SNL Over Pete Davidson's R. Kelly/Church Joke

Ben Yakas

Published Mar 11, 2019

Modified Mar 11, 2019

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Ben Yakas

Published Mar 11, 2019

Modified Mar 11, 2019

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Pete Davidson has gotten extremely good at pissing people off with his Weekend Update bits: first he alienated all of Staten Island, then he was forced to apologize to Rep. Dan Crenshaw for a throwaway joke, and now the Brooklyn Diocese is up in arms about him comparing R. Kelly fans to church supporters this weekend.

The Brooklyn Diocese said in a statement, "The Diocese of Brooklyn is demanding an immediate public apology from Saturday Night Live and NBC after Saturday night’s disgraceful and offensive skit in which cast member Pete Davidson, during the Weekend Update segment, said: 'If you support the Catholic Church, isn't that the same thing as being an R. Kelly fan?' The statement clearly shocked the studio audience as gasps could be heard off camera."

In the piece from this weekend's episode, Davidson was trying to humorously discuss a really nuanced, complicated issue: whether people can ethically separate the art from the toxic artists who made it. He used the Catholic Church as a comparison point to look at how people can hold diametrically-opposed ideas in their head at the same time, like continuing to support the ideals of the Church despite the innumerable amount of clergymen who either participated in or allowed sexual misconduct to flourish.

"I don't really see the difference [between the Catholic Church and R. Kelly] — only one’s music is significantly better," Davidson continued. "Just the other day, my mom was like, 'I'm going to mass,' and I was like, 'Okay, I'm going to go listen to the "Ignition (Remix).'" (FYI: that's the only part of the bit that mentions the Church.)

The Brooklyn Diocese did not find Davidson's rhetoric devices amusing or apt: "Apparently, the only acceptable bias these days is against the Catholic Church," they said in a statement. "The faithful of our Church are disgusted by the harassment by those in news and entertainment, and this sketch offends millions. The mockery of this difficult time in the Church’s history serves no purpose. The clergy sex abuse crisis is shameful, and no one should ever get a laugh at the expense of the victims who have suffered irreparably. The Diocese of Brooklyn strives every day to ensure that sexual abuse by clergy never happens again."

They add, "For nearly two decades, the Diocese of Brooklyn has taken this crisis seriously and instituted widespread changes mandated by the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People." They go on to list many of the policies they've instituted in the past decade, such as "a zero-tolerance policy" for any clergy members "credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor" and the fact that they mandate sexual abuse awareness training for all clergy and employees.

But in touting just how seriously they take sexual abuse, they leave out a lot of bad stuff that has come out in the past couple years alone. Like how in 2017, more than a dozen women came forward to accuse a former Catholic priest of sexual abuse, and to allege that the Diocese of Brooklyn worked to cover up decades of his predatory behavior. Or that the Diocese of Brooklyn reached a $27.5 million settlement just last year with four men who were repeatedly abused by a religious teacher at a Roman Catholic church in Clinton Hill. Or that the Diocese of Brooklyn bypassed its own safety protocols to hire Father Roberto Cadavid in 2012, despite his long history of alleged abuse (at least four young boys had come forward accusing Cadavid of abusing them before he was hired). Or that it took until just one month ago for the Diocese of Brooklyn to release the names of more than 100 priests credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a minor.

They concluded their statement, "It is likely that no other institution has done more than the Catholic Church to combat and prevent sexual abuse. The insensitivity of the writers, producers, and the cast of SNL around this painful subject is alarming."

It seems kind of incredible for the Church to get on its high horse about this subject at this point, when it should institutionally be ashamed 24/7 about letting this behavior run rampant for decades. Who was it again who said let him who is without sin cast the first stone? Maybe they should change it to, "let him who has never supported or participated in a system that allowed, and at times encouraged, thousands of children to be abused cast the first stone."

We reached out to NBC and were told they will not be commenting.

Tagged

brooklyn diocese

church

pete davidson

saturday night live

snl

television

Ben Yakas

Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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