Viacom has long been known for its anti-Catholic fare on Comedy Central and other networks. The Catholic League has dealt with them many times, both before and after their split with CBS. And Bill Donohue treasures the letters from head honcho Sumner Redstone defending bigotry as purely a free speech issue.
Recently Viacom pushed new buttons: their outdoor campaign in New York City included a picture of a couple of gals from the Comedy Central show “Broad City” wearing an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; the depiction appeared inside votive candles and was posted on the outside of phone booths that line city sidewalks.
Bill Donohue knows Viacom’s first quarter ad sales were down 5 percent, and that they just laid off 264 employees in New York City, but nothing justified ramping up their audience by exploiting Catholic iconography.
If they thought the Catholic League was overreacting, and that this was just fun and games, then they should have demonstrated their much-vaunted fidelity to inclusion by posting Islamic iconography on street corners around the city.
The Catholic League encouraged Catholics to contact Viacom and demand that they discontinue this offensive ad campaign.
