Pop Artist on BBC Censoring 'Jesus' Lyric: It Was Weird
A British pop star indicated she was surprised when the BBC network reportedly requested she change the lyrics to one of her songs to omit a reference to "Jesus."
Eliza Doolittle, the 25-year-old London-born singer, says that when she recently appeared on BBC's "The Chris Evans Breakfast Show" on Radio 2, she was asked to change the lyrics to her song "Walking on Water." The original lyrics tell of a woman's yearning love, with her dedication to her significant other being so intense that she would run across water to meet them, just as Jesus walked on water in Matthew 14: 22-33.
Doolittle had to change her lyrics from "Sometimes I wish I was Jesus, I'd get my Air Max on and run across the sea for you" to 'Sometimes I wish it was easy to get my Air Max on and run across the sea for you."
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"It was weird because I'm not being blasphemous, I just meant 'I wish I could run across water and see you,' but maybe wishing for the power of God was blasphemous enough for them," Doolittle told the Daily Mail in a recent interview over the issue.
As Breitbart points out, it is unclear if BBC altered the young pop star's lyrics in order to please non-Christian listeners, or to avoid offending those who may see the reference to Jesus as blasphemous.
Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has spoken out against the radio network's decision, saying he is "totally appalled" over the incident. "I'm not surprised the BBC is behind this because their attitude tends to be to dumb down the Christian message."
A spokesperson for the BBC told The Telegraph that there has been a "misunderstanding" over the Doolittle incident, stressing that the company would not ask the pop star to change her song lyrics. "We don't know how this misunderstanding occurred as it is the record company and artist's decision to change lyrics to their songs."
In recent weeks, the BBC has also been forced to address other accusations of censorship. The network's show "Free Speech," which recently held a roundtable discussion on the Muslim religion, cut a segment that showed a drag queen asking the question: "When will it be right to be Muslim and gay?"
The BBC released a statement, saying it chose to end discussion after the drag queen's question because the Birmingham mosque, where the show was being taped, raised security concerns. The mosque also said it was unaware such a question would be asked.
"The mosque received threats which gave us cause for concern to the security of their community," the network said in a statement.
"Discussions took place within two hours of the program being broadcast live as to the best way to proceed, bearing in mind the security of the mosque and respect for their concerns over offending their community.
"As a result the production company, together with the BBC and the mosque, made a considered decision to postpone the debate."
