“The Bible”, a five part miniseries drawing record ratings for the History Channel it airs on, is getting some extra attention today after a conservative commentator tweeted that the Satan character resembles President Barack Obama, although stopping short of actually saying his name. ‘The Bible’ premiered earlier this month, but Sunday night’s episode introduced the Satan character for the first time. Glen Beck set off a flurry of tweets after he posted, “Anyone else think the Devil in #TheBible Sunday on History Channel looks exactly like That Guy”?, as reported by CBS News on Monday March 18.
After actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni's first appearance as Satan in “The Bible” aired on Sunday night, a number of viewers took to Twitter to say that he bears a resemblance to President Barack Obama.
Christian conservative broadcaster Beck started things off with his tweet, although avoiding dropping the President’s name, he referred to him as “That Guy”. This sent media outlets pouring over producers Mark Burnett and wife Roma Downey’s political affiliations.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that Burnett has donated to Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama in 2008 and the DNC in 2009. However, he also produces conservative Republican Donald Trump's “Celebrity Apprentice” show.
Burnett also produced Sarah Palin's first reality show. Wife Roma Downey, while not publicly identifying with a party, is said to be a “devout Catholic” who has spoken in public about her faith quite often.
Ouazanni has appeared in numerous other bible-themed productions, including television movies “The Ten Commandments”, “David” and “In the Beginning”.
Besides producing the popular 10-hour miniseries “The Bible”, Burnett is best know for producing reality shows such as “Survivor” and “The Voice”. His wife Roma starred in “Touched by an Angel”.
“The Bible” drew 13.1 million viewers for its debut episode earlier this month, making it cable's most-watched entertainment telecast of 2013 so far. The final two-hour part of the series concludes on Easter Sunday.
Mark Burnett has so far not commented on the controversy over the Satan character.
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