Jamie Foxx quickly drew criticism from some Christians after he called President Barack Obama “our Lord and savior” during the 2012 BET Soul Train Awards in Las Vegas.
According to E! News, Foxx praised the re-elected president after he took the stage. The show, which aired on BET just this past Saturday, had been taped only a few days after the 2012 election.
“It’s like church over here. It’s like church in here,” the Oscar winning actor told the audience. “First of all, give an honor to God and our Lord and savior Barack Obama.”
He then encouraged the crowd to stand to their feet. While those in the audience cheered in response to Foxx’s comments, others found the remarks offensive.
John Hayward, from conservative blog Human Events, wrote, “Practicing Christians are not amused by the portrayal of modern secular politicians as replacements for Jesus. But presumably their feelings don’t count, because they won’t burn anything doing in outrage.”
Bill Donahue, the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in the United States, released a statement in response, writing, “Foxx’s epiphany is startling.”
In the statement, Donahue refers to a 2011 red carpet interview during which Foxx admits to not knowing what God means to him.
“It just goes to show that even though Obama did not succeed in stopping the oceans from rising (as he promised to do in 2008), he succeeded in convincing Jamie Foxx, and no doubt legions of others, that God exists,” he wrote.
E! News was not able to reach Foxx’s rep for a comment.
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