Danny Moloshok/Reuters
The Diocese of Brooklyn demanded Saturday Night Live to publicly apologize after a joke on the show compared the Catholic Church’s own sex scandals to the allegations against singer R. Kelly, who is accused of sexually abusing minors. “Before I continue, this guy is a monster and he should go to jail forever,” comedian Pete Davidson said of Kelly, according to the New York Post. “But if you support the Catholic church, isn’t that like the same thing as being an R. Kelly fan? I don’t really see the difference, except for one’s music is significantly better.” In a statement Monday, the diocese called the joke “disgraceful and offensive.” “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 statement read. “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 church has been rocked by child sexual-abuse scandals and multiple states have launched investigations into their own dioceses. Kelly has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, involving four victims.