Following a controversial cover that was, weirdly, apparently “a tribute to Nobel Prize-winning author Jose Saramago’s The Gospel According to Jesus Christ,” Playboy has canceled its Portuguese edition:
Describes the Daily Mail, “he pictures show a long-haired, glowing Jesus watching two models in a lesbian clinch, standing next to a prostitute and looking over the shoulder of a woman reading a book.” But what could have been interpreted as an ambiguous endorsement of same-sex love has instead offended people! Including Hef! Says Theresa Hennessy, Playboy Enterprises vice president of public relations,
We did not see or approve the cover and pictorial in the July issue of Playboy Portugal. It is a shocking breach of our standards and we would have not allowed it to be published if we had seen it in advance. We are in the process of terminating our agreement with the Portuguese publisher.
Saramago’s 1992 O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo, which portrays an alternate version of Christ’s life, was predictably controversial upon publication: his Christ is human and fallible and the novel has him involved in a romance with Mary Magdalene. There is not, however any scene in which he’s a voyeur in a lesbian orgy. That said, we approve this literary direction for Playboy covers, and look forward to similarly artistic interpretations of both Jerzy Kosiński’s collected work and The Mill on the Floss.
Playboy Cancels Portuguese Edition After It Features Jesus Christ Among Topless Models [Daily Mail]
Playboy Portgual’s Jesus Cover: Magazine Cancels Portuguese Edition Following Controversial Spread (PHOTO) [Daily Mail]