The Simpsons Censored for Catholic Group
June 3, 1999 © Ultimate TV.

Producers of the animated series “The Simpsons” are angered with FOX’s decision to edit out a Catholic reference during a rerun of the episode that aired after this year’s Super Bowl game, giving in to pressure from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

The zealous religious group objected to a commercial that Marge and Lisa watch in which a parody of an old ZZ Top video shows three sexy girls leaving a gas station to help a nerdy guy fix his car. One of the girls is drawn wearing a crucifix which dangles over her full bosom, and the voice-over says, “The Catholic Church: We’ve made a few…changes.”

“I’m really angry, executive producer Mike Scully told the Los Angeles Times, ” People can say hurtful things to each other about their weight, their race, their intelligence, their sexual preference, and that all seems up for grabs. But when you get into religion, some people get very nervous.”

Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights launched a campaign that helped ABC’s ” Nothing Sacred” get canceled a season ago, and has also organized letter writing campaigns against ” Ally McBeal.””