Glenn Beck and Conservatives See the Devil in Barack Obama on 'The Bible'

The History channel's The Bible miniseries has been a high-profile ratings success, and now Glenn Beck and the conservative media, along with maybe a few actual viewers, are brewing a high-profile controversy because, well, the actor who played the devil on Sunday night's episode maybe kind of sort of looks like the President of the United States.

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Yes, Beck kind of started this whole thing:

He was not alone, though, as many viewers—likely of conservative bent—decided to imply that the casting and the makeup was not a coincidence:  

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And, of course, all of that was prime Drudge bait: 

So was it actually a coincidence? It's hard to tell based on what we know about the the politics of the producers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jordan Zakarin of THR reports that producers Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey aren't exactly public about party preferences. Burnett has donated to Obama in the past, even though he's produced the reality efforts of high-profile Republicans Donald Trump and Sarah Palin. In promoting The Bible, he and Downey have appeared on Beck's TheBlaze TV, and appealed to conservative pastors Joel Osteen and Rick Warren. Meanwhile, The Bible has in itself helped History raise its profile among conservatives and Christians. 

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We'll see if Burnett or History make a statement on the debatable coincidence—we've reached out to the network for comment—but a fresh controversy can't be bad for ratings.