Tim Tebow ‘Saturday Night Live’ Sketch Offended Christian Audiences: ‘It’s Anti-Christian Bigotry’
Saturday Night Live is never afraid to insert itself into the conversation of all facets of pop culture through its sketches. However, some of them go a bit too far for some audiences. Saturday Night Live once had a sketch surrounding football quarterback Tim Tebow and his team at the time, the Denver Broncos. Its depiction of Jesus left some Christian audiences feeling angry. However, other audiences absolutely loved the sketch thanks to one of its cast members, in particular.
‘Saturday Night Live’ poked fun at Tim Tebow
Jimmy Fallon hosted Saturday Night Live Season 37 Episode 10 along with Michael Bublé as the musical guest of the evening. Given that the episode played during the holiday season, it made sense for the sketches to fall heavily in line with the spirit of the time of year. One of them, in particular, took jabs at sports culture.
Saturday Night Live included a segment called “Locker Room,” where the Denver Broncos and Tebow. His image was always famous for his connection to religion and his fervor for football.
Jason Sudeikis played Jesus, who mentioned his exhaustion with helping the Broncos win their games. He talked to the team about having to help themselves more, noting that he prays to kicker Matt Prater. Meanwhile, Jesus explained that he’s called upon for other gigs, such as the Country Music Awards. Before Jesus left the locker room, he asked Tebow to “take it down a notch” with his love for Jesus.
The ‘Saturday Night Live’ Tim Tebow skit offended Christian audiences
Some members of the Christian community didn’t much care for “Jesus Visits Tim Tebow and The Denver Broncos” and its sense of humor. Televangelist Pat Robertson called out Saturday Night Live for their Tebow skit on The 700 Club, referring to it as “anti-Christian bigotry 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,” Robertson said.
Meanwhile, Fox News analyst and commentator Bob Beckel called it “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,” Beckle 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 commercial operation … there’s nothing funny about that.”
Other audiences loved Jason Sudeikis as Jesus
Meanwhile, the YouTube comments under the official Saturday Night Live Tebow skit didn’t share the same feelings. They specifically called out Sudeikis for his performance as Jesus, which users called “gold,” “hilarious” and “genius.” Another comment expressed how thrilled they were to see Sudeikis play both Jesus and the Devil over the course of his time on the show.
Another user said that they thought the sketch was done “in such good taste.” Others quoted their favorite lines from the sketch, specifically referring to the ones between Jesus and Tebow.
