N.Y. diocese demands apology for ‘SNL’ sketch comparing Catholics, R. Kelly fans

A “Saturday Night Live” segment in which Pete Davidson compared Catholics to fans of singer and accused abuser R. Kelly has a New York diocese lamenting that “the only acceptable bias these days is against the Catholic Church.”

In a Monday press release, the Diocese of Brooklyn demanded that Davidson apologize for his “disgraceful and offensive” sketch, which aired Saturday.

“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 statement reads. “The Diocese of Brooklyn strives every day to ensure that sexual abuse by clergy never happens again.”

The release goes on to detail efforts taken by the diocese to combat clergy sex abuse, concluding, “The insensitivity of the writers, producers, and the cast of SNL around this painful subject is alarming.”

The “Weekend Update” segment began with Davidson discussing a recent documentary containing accusations of sexual abuse against Kelly.

“This guy is a monster, and he should go to jail forever,” Davidson said, a video of the sketch shows.

“If you support the Catholic Church, isn’t that like the same thing as being an R. Kelly fan?” Davidson asked, to gasps and boos from the audience. “I don’t really see a difference, only, like, one’s music is significantly better. “

Davidson then turned from the Catholic Church to discuss how fans should react to abuse allegations against their favorite musicians.

“Look, I’m not saying it’s an easy decision, I’m just saying, you don’t know how good someone’s music is until you find out they’re a pedophile,” he said. “And the reason everyone’s so upset is because R. Kelly and Michael Jackson made great music.”

This story was originally published March 12, 2019 at 1:03 PM with the headline "N.Y. diocese demands apology for ‘SNL’ sketch comparing Catholics, R. Kelly fans."