‘Black Jesus’ Is Coming To Adult Swim, And That’s No Joke, But Neither Is The Backlash

All hail “‘Black Jesus”! As in the new half-hour comedy series slated to premiere on Adult Swim in two weeks on Thursday, August 7th at 11pm EST.

Conceived by the same zany mind behind “The Boondocks” series (also on Adult Swim), “Black Jesus” features the Christian savior Jesus Christ as a black man living in Compton, CA. His mission? According to Indie Wie, it’s to “spread love and kindness throughout the neighborhood,” of course!

Filling in for Black Jesus will be Gerald ‘Slink’ Johnson, a relatively unknown actor, though he did play the voice of Lamar Davis in “Grand Theft Auto V.” Also included among the cast members are heavy-weight comedians Charlie Murphy, Corey Holcomb and John Witherspoon.

If you regularly watch VINE, you might also recognize another “Black Jesus” cast member; King Bach. New York Magazine reports that he earned massive social media clout (think millions of followers) by making hilarious VINE videos like the one below:

Other actors of the Adult Swim comedy include Kali Hawk, Andra Fuller, Angela Elayne Gibbs, Valenzia Algarin and Antwon Tanner.

Unfortunately for “Black Jesus” and “Boondocks” creator Aaron McGruder, the show has not been all that well received by the American public. For instance, Christian Post reporter Nicola Menzie noted that while “Black Jesus” sometimes portrays the savior in a positive light by having him talk about ” faith and salvation to his neighbors,” it also features him “dropping four-letter expletives” and “getting carjacked,” among other things.

Furthermore, according to the NY Daily News, the conservative Christian group One Million Moms penned a post on its website that slammed “Black Jesus” for its impiety:

“The foul language used in the trailer, including using the Lord’s name in vain, is disgusting. In addition, there is violence, gunfire and other inappropriate gestures which completely misrepresent Jesus. This is blasphemy!”

Pastor David A. Rodgers of The House of Prayer For All Nations Ministries in Chicago shared a similar sentiment on his Facebook page about the Adult Swim show:

“We, the Christian Community are vehemently opposed and violently offended at this upcoming program. There is no way that this show would be aimed at the Jewish or Muslim community. We are demanding an IMMEDIATE retraction of this show and a PUBLIC APOLOGY to the Christian Community at large.”

However, as of late July, the backlash has not been strong enough to prevent the show from going forward, so expect to see “Black Jesus” on Adult Swim in about two weeks.

In the meantime, check the trailer for “Black Jesus” below:

Image via [Indie Wire ]