Producer Mark Burnett and his wife, actress Roma Downey.
Steve Granitz/WireImageThe Bible producer Roma Downey felt her show was “hijacked” after a social-media firestorm ensued in March over the alleged physical similarity between President Obama and the actor who played Satan.
“The night before that broke in the news, Jesus had made his first appearance on the screen and I was so looking forward to Monday and knowing that Jesus would be on the lips of everyone,” she told Oprah Winfrey in released excerpts of an interview to be aired Sunday, April 14, on OWN.
STORY: From ‘The Bible’ to the Amish, Why Religion Is Hot on Cable
Downey added: “For Satan to be the point of conversation was really heartbreaking. … We love the president, we have nothing but respect for the president. We felt somehow hijacked.”
Her husband and Bible co-producer, Mark Burnett, brushed off the controversy, saying, “If you’re gonna do what we do for a living, which is stick your neck out there … it’s a free country and you got to accept that.”
The conclusion of the miniseries, which aired on Easter Sunday, garnered 11.6 million viewers.
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