The famous car brand Porsche is in hot water due to its video advertisement that erased an iconic statue of Jesus Christ in Lisbon, Portugal, from the background.
The company’s recent campaign was to celebrate several decades of its Porsche 911 and promote a special edition model, Fox Business reported Monday.
HOLY HELL: “Hey, @Porsche, why did you erase the statue of Jesus Christ?” The social media firestorm: https://t.co/vgCb7LWp9K pic.twitter.com/VXIzCDuNhF
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 7, 2023
The company released a video showing the Porsche 911 through the years. One of the cars is seen cruising along a roadway near the bridge and river where the statue, known as the Cristo Rei, overlooks the city of Lisbon.
However, the massive Jesus figure, with arms outstretched, was not there, even though its pedestal remained in the video:
They have now made the video private on YouTube.
I’ll just leave it here.
I don’t think @elonmusk will cave to censorship on this platform. pic.twitter.com/abNLNJAler— Alex B. (@maisumcarneiro) August 6, 2023
Social media users quickly criticized the company for the apparent erasure, one person writing, “Not cool, Porsche, not cool at all.”
“Porsche is evidently anti-Christ. They would have a better ad if the statue were left in. Go woke Porsche,” another user replied, while someone else said, “Guess they didn’t see what happened with bud light….lol.”
In a statement to Fox, Porsche addressed the issue and said, “In an early version of a film created in Europe, the Cristo Rei Statue does not appear. We are truly sorry and can fully understand the hurt this has caused. This film has been removed.”
Hey, @Porsche , why did you erase the statue of Jesus Christ from your video filmed in Lisbon? pic.twitter.com/VxcfUBrN8D
— Alex B. (@maisumcarneiro) August 5, 2023
The Cristo Rei is known as one of the most iconic sights in the city and towers over the Tejo Estuary, according to an independent guide to Portugal.
“Cristo Rei dates from the 1950s, and its construction represents Portugal’s religious gratitude for avoiding the horrors of World War Two,” the site reads.
Aerial video footage shows the Jesus statue looking out over the bridge and the city beyond:
The Fox report noted Porsche later shared an updated version of the video online Sunday, which shows the statue:
“A message to our community: in a previously-uploaded version of the 911 S/T launch film, a landmark was removed. This was a mistake, and we apologise for any offence caused. Your comments on this video were appreciated,” Porsche wrote in a pinned comment on the YouTube video.