The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has criticized a sketch performed during Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles by host Seth MacFarlane that it says "sends false messages about Jews" to a global audience who may be more inclined to accept the stereotypes as factual.
In the sketch, he used the animated teddy bear from his hit film Ted to make a joke about Jews controlling Hollywood. The bear, voiced by MacFarlane, said: "I was born Theodore Shapiro and I would like to donate to Israel and continue to work in Hollywood forever."
Ted asked actor Mark Wahlberg if he is Jewish. Wahlberg responded that he is in fact Catholic.
“Wrong answer, try again,” said Ted. “Do you want to work in this town or don’t you?”
The ADL, which monitors anti-Semitism and prejudices, said it was "offensive and not remotely funny. It only reinforces stereotypes which legitimise anti-Semitism."
"It is sad and disheartening that the Oscars awards show sought to use anti-Jewish stereotypes for laughs," said Abraham H.Fowman, ADL’s national director.
“When one considers the global audience of the Oscars of upwards of 2 billion people, including many who know little or nothing about Hollywood or the falsity of such Jewish stereotypes, there’s a much higher potential for the ‘Jews control Hollywood’ myth to be accepted as fact,” he said.