Producers Cut Satan Scenes Out of 'Son of God' Due to Obama Look-Alike Controversy

To avoid backlash, the producers of the upcoming film "Son of God" have edited out scenes that included an actor playing the devil who resembled President Barack Obama.

The 20th Century Fox film, which debuts on Feb. 28, is primarily a movie version of the "The Bible," the popular TV miniseries series that featured actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni as Satan last year. However, many people noted that Ouazanni's evil character looked like the president, causing a storm of controversy.

As a result, scenes with the actor have been cut out of the "Son of God."  

"It gives me great pleasure to tell you that the devil is on the cutting-room floor. This is now a movie about Jesus, the son of God, and the devil gets no more screen time," Roma Downey, who co-produced the movie with her husband Mark Burnett, told The Hollywood Reporter.

"Son of God" is a two-hour film that mimics the 10-hour miniseries, which aired on the History Channel in 2013. "The Bible," which was a huge success, garnered negative publicity in March after a number of viewers, including conservative TV host Glenn Beck, noticed a resemblance between Obama and Satan, reports the LA Times.

In response, the History Channel issued a statement denying any link between Obama and the Satan actor.

"History Channel has the highest respect for President Obama," the statement said. "It's unfortunate that anyone made this false connection. History's 'The Bible' is meant to enlighten people on its rich stories and deep history."

Last year Downey and Burnett, the executive producers on "The Bible" series, also released a statement calling the controversy "utter nonsense."

"The actor who played Satan, Mehdi Ouzaani, is a highly acclaimed Moroccan actor. He has previously played parts in several Biblical epics - including satanic characters long before Barack Obama was elected as our president."

"Someone made a comment that the actor who played the devil vaguely resembled our president, and suddenly the media went nuts," Downey said. As a result, she said for the movie version, "I wanted all of the focus to be on Jesus."