Catholic diocese demands apology from 'SNL' after Pete Davidson compares church to R. Kelly

The Diocese of Brooklyn is not laughing at Pete Davidson's latest comparison on "Saturday Night Live."

During the show's "Weekend Update" segment, the comedian likened supporters of the Catholic Church, which has seen a sex-abuse scandal encompassing thousands of priests, to fans of R. Kelly, who is facing 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

"If you support the Catholic Church, isn't that, like, the same thing as being a R. Kelly fan? I don't really see a difference, only, like, one's music is significantly better," Davidson said to mixed reactions from the crowd. "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."

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In a statement posted to its website, the diocese demanded a public apology from "SNL" and NBC for the "disgraceful and offensive skit."

"Apparently, the only acceptable bias these days is against the Catholic Church," leaders of the Brooklyn diocese said in a statement. "The faithful of our Church are disgusted by the harassment by those in news and entertainment, and this sketch offends millions. The mockery of this difficult time in the Church’s history serves no purpose."

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The statement continued: "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 Diocese of Brooklyn strives every day to ensure that sexual abuse by clergy never happens again."

The diocese said it has "instituted widespread changes" to prevent abuse, adding that it's "likely that no other institution has done more than the Catholic Church to combat and prevent sexual abuse."

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So far, "SNL" producers and NBC have not responded to the diocese.

In the skit, Davidson called Kelly a "monster," before sharing his take on the similarities between him and the church.

Davidson added, "And the reason everyone's so upset is because R. Kelly and Michael Jackson made great music. If I found out Macklemore did some weird stuff, I'd be happy to free up the space on my iPhone."

Davidson then suggested how people should handle whether to continue listening to Kelly. "The rule should be, if you want to listen to their music, you just have to admit they're bad people." he said.

Contributing: Sara M Moniuszko

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Catholic diocese demands apology from 'SNL' after Pete Davidson compares church to R. Kelly