Passion spoof sparks spat

new york (jta) | A Jewish magazine and its publicist have parted ways over an upcoming satire about a Mel Gibson movie on Jesus.

Celebrity publicist Susan Blond said that a photo spread about the movie “The Passion of the Christ” in the Wednesday, Feb. 25, issue of Heeb magazine, a client of hers, insulted her.

Blond, a recent adherent to Orthodoxy, said she dropped the account because of pictures depicting Jesus wearing a tallit, or prayer shawl, as a loincloth, and of the Virgin Mary with pierced nipples. “I couldn’t live with myself,” she said.

Joshua Neuman, Heeb’s editor in chief, called Blond’s descriptions of the photos “inaccurate,” saying that the feature, “Back Off, Braveheart,” tackles “a really important issue that many young Jews in America today are talking about.”

COVER STORY:
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