Catholic advocates are more than a little peeved with Larry David, whose HBO show 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' featured a segment this week that involved Jesus, out-of-control urine and mocking of the Christian belief in miracles.
If you're a fan and still haven't seen the episode, stop reading now.
In the episode, which aired Sunday, the comedian accidentally splatters while relieving himself near a portrait of Jesus, and opts not to wipe it off. His pious assistant and her mother see the picture and whole-heartedly believe their bathroom has been touched by God.
"Was Larry David always this crude?" Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said in a statement released Monday. "Would he think it comedic if someone urinated on a picture of his mother?"
Donohue noted that while he believes 'Seinfeld' (created by David) was "brilliant," the same can't be said about 'Curb.'
"David's best years are behind him" Donohue said, adding "he ought to quit while he's ahead."
The Catholic booster sees a pattern with the network. "This might be fun to watch, but since HBO only likes to dump on Catholics (it was just a couple of weeks ago that Sarah Silverman insulted Catholics on 'Real Time with Bill Maher'), and David is Jewish, we'll never know."
Deal Hudson, of InsideCatholic.com, expressed similar outrage in comments to FoxNews.com: "Why is it that people are allowed to publicly show that level of disrespect for Christian symbols? If the same thing was done to a symbol of any other religions -- Jewish or Muslim -- there'd be a huge outcry. It's simply not a level playing field."
In a statement to Fox, HBO tried to calm the controversy by reminding people who they're angry with.
"Anyone who follows 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' knows that the show is full of parody and satire," the network said. "Larry David makes fun of everyone, most especially himself. The humor is always playful and certainly never malicious."
The controversial episode, titled 'The Bare Midriff,' was actually more centered on David's paunchy assistant and her penchant for wearing tiny shirts. Larry has started taking a "new pill" to help increase his urine flow, which leads to the splashing. Later, he gets some on his assistant.
