WWJD or WTF? CNN’s Carol Costello thought Diogo Morgado’s bod was a bit too bodacious for Jesus Christ in the new film “Son of God.” On Thursday, she grilled Catholic priest Rev. James Martin about the historical accuracy of the savior’s pulchritude.
“‘Son of God’ is generating a lot of heat because Jesus is, um, so sexy!” Costello exclaimed. “He looks like Brad Pitt… The question for me became must Jesus be sexy too?”
Also read: ‘Son of God’ Review: Bless Me, Surfer Jesus
Costello was so skeezed by this depiction of the lord, she also penned an op-ed for CNN.com:
I’m not the only one gawking at Morgado’s Jesus. He inspired the hashtag, “#HotJesus.” It went viral on Twitter. The actor told The New York Times he doesn’t want his looks to distract from the movie, but, “If the message of Jesus was love, hope and compassion, and I can bring that to more people by being a more appealing Jesus, I am happy with that.”
Also read: Mark Burnett on ‘Son of God’ Box Office: ‘A Billion People Will See it’
“It would be extremely difficult to find the exact right actor to cast as Jesus, the filmmaker said as much,” Costello observed. “But through the years, Jesus has morphed from good-looking to great-looking to now sexy. Why is that?”
“Well, I think it’s a natural trend we tend to like to look at pretty people on the screen. In first century Palestine, his disciples did not follow him because he had six-pack abs,” Martin said. “They followed him because he healed the sick…and raised people from the dead. I think we need to look at priorities.”
“Was Jesus sexy?” Costello asked.
“You know, physically we have no idea what he looked like,” Martin said. “Ironically, though, back in the first century Palestine, it was more likely that he was short and darker. I don’t think he looked like Brad Pitt, though.”
TheWrap’s Inkoo Kang also agreed with Costello, referring to the ripped Messiah as “surfer Jesus.”
Watch Costello criticize the sexualization of Jesus: