Mentioning Jesus verboten at ABC?

Media Research Center ^ | May 30, 2002

[Paul Atreides]

Mentioning Jesus verboten at ABC? On Tuesday’s The View, Joy Behar recalled how on a show the week before, she had exclaimed about her diet plan coming to an end: "Yes, and thank you, thank you, Jesus, is all I have to say! Goodbye to that damn scale and this whole diet. I'm sick of it!" But for the West Coast feed of that show, ABC bleeped out the name “Jesus.”

Though it was created by and on some days features Barbara Walters, The View is not an ABC News program but one produced by ABC’s entertainment division. The day time talk show, produced fresh each day in New York City so it can address topical issues, is hosted by Meredith Vieira with Joy Behar, Star Jones and Lisa Ling.

The MRC’s Jessica Anderson tracked down Behar’s original comment which ABC later decided to bleep. The exchange in question on the May 23 show:

Meredith Vieira: "So yesterday, yesterday if you saw this show, you know it was the last day of the weigh-in, the scale is gone."

Joy Behar: "Yes, and thank you, thank you, Jesus, is all I have to say! Goodbye to that damn scale and this whole diet. I'm sick of it!"

Fast forward to the May 28 show. Behar complained: "You know, the other day, as a point of order here, the other day when we were on last week, I used the phrase 'thank you Jesus' because my diet was over and we got, I was, it was bumped out of the, what do you call it?"

Star Jones: "They beeped it." [yes, she said “beeped” not “bleeped”]

Behar elaborated: "For the West coast, they took it out. They would not allow me to say 'thank you Jesus.' I think that's wrong. I mean, and [The View Executive Producer] Bill Geddie got about, you know, hundreds of letters saying -- about a hundred actually, right?"

Geddie, sitting in the front row of the audience: "About a hundred.”

Behar: "A hundred, which represents thousands of people."

Geddie: "Well, they bleeped the word 'Jesus.'"

Behar: "Because they bleeped the word 'Jesus.'"

Geddie: "So it's 'thank you bleep.'"

Lisa Ling: "Well, is that using the name of–"

Jones: "I've said 'Jesus' so many times."

Behar joked: "Yeah, that's right. How come the black girl can say it and the white girl can't? I protest!"

Jones suggested an odd explanation: "Actually, I think it actually has more to do with the fact that I've expressed my faith on television."

Behar: "Well, geez, so what? I'm a Catholic!"

Jones: "Not to suggest that you are not Christian, but I think it was to suggest that since I have professed my faith on television–"

Behar: "No, no, no, no."

Vieira: "But you don't have to profess your faith!"

Jones: "In theory, I don't know. I think it was stupid to beep that. They let us say all kinds of things on TV, but they beep Jesus? That makes no sense!"

Behar: "I don't understand that, and just for the record I was baptized, I had holy communion and I've been confirmed, I got married in the Catholic church."

Vieira: "If anybody can say 'Jesus,' you can."

Behar: "Jesus and I are pals, okay? Get with the program!"

But the name of a religious figure apparently instills fear with some at ABC.

[Paul Atreides]

This didn't have a title and I didn't know how to search for it so, if there are any posting police lurking about, put away the cuffs.

[My2Cents]

So, ABC bleeped out "Jesus" but not "damn." Disney company. Figures.

[Paul Atreides]

When it comes to political correctness, Disney is becoming as bad, if not worse, than the public school system.

[ZGuy]

The story has been posted twice before, but your post adds a little more detail since it is from a different source. A search for "Jesus" will bring up the previous post in this forum. The other post was in the religion forum.

[bobbyd]

THANK YOU JESUS

[A CA Guy]

Some needed CHRISTIAN volunteers to post on "THE VIEW" MESSAGE BOARD perhaps?

http://boards.go.com/cgi/WLS/request.dll?LIST&room=wls-view-gc

MAKE YOUR CHRISTIAN VIEWS KNOWN!!!!!

[Mike Darancette]

Behar elaborated: "For the West coast, they took it out. They would not allow me to say 'thank you Jesus.' I think that's wrong.

Proves that there is no G-D west of the Rockies.

[Jorge]

Using the name Jesus and swearing in the same statement hardly shows respect for Christ. Quite the opposite.
It would have been better to leave His name out altogether.

[Russell Scott]

I wonder if they would bleep out "atheistic fascist Mickey Mouse operation". Its amazing that we always denounced the "evil empire", the Soviet Union for its atheistic godless society, and now corporate America is trying to do everything it can to emulate them. As soon as America is attacked its time to sing "God Bless America". Sorry Dizzyland, you can't have it both ways, and you are going out of business if you don't exalt what is good and condemn what is evil. Mark my word, within 2 years Disney will be sold, or bankrupt, unless they start exalting Jesus, instead of condemning him as a curse word. They used to have "Christian days" at Disneyland, now they have replaced it with "gay days". Oh how the mighty have fallen.

[Freakazoid]

From The Life Of Briam

CROWD OF WOMEN:
[yelling]
JEWISH OFFICIAL:
Matthias, son of Deuteronomy of Gath.
MATTHIAS:
Do I say 'yes'?
STONE HELPER #1:
Yes.
MATTHIAS:
Yes.
OFFICIAL:
You have been found guilty by the elders of the town of uttering the name of our Lord, and so, as a blasphemer,...
CROWD:
Ooooh!
OFFICIAL:
...you are to be stoned to death.
CROWD:
Ahh!
MATTHIAS:
Look. I-- I'd had a lovely supper, and all I said to my wife was, 'That piece of halibut was good enough for Jehovah.'
CROWD:
Oooooh!
OFFICIAL:
Blasphemy!
He's said it again!
CROWD:
Yes! Yes, he did! He did!...
OFFICIAL:
Did you hear him?!
CROWD:
Yes! Yes, we did! We did!...

[Bommer]

2 years ago, ABC aired a extremely well done clay animation show called 'The Miracle Maker' it was a 2 hour story telling show on a little girls relationship with Jesus. She meets just briefly in the beginning, but later turns out to be the little girl Jesus raises from the dead.(It was quite excellent and I encourge you if you can find it to rent the DVD or tape.)

Those who are against Jesus Christ should be considered Anti-Christs and should be treated as one would treat 'The Anti-Christ!'.

[uglyworld]

Yeah, it's not like they bleeped out a prayer or a Bible verse.