"And Just Like That" Has Rosie O’Donnell Play A Nun Who Has Lesbian Sex—Can We Stop Mocking Christians On TV?

Taking shots at Christianity, whether it’s through a cheap joke or writing characters who abandon their faith, has become the go-to for mainstream shows. Writers reach for it when they want to seem bold without risking any real backlash. In Hollywood and the music industry, there are plenty of lines you don’t cross. Just not when it comes to Christians.

The Season 3 premiere of And Just Like That is the latest example. In the first episode, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) ends up having sex with a woman she meets at a bar, who later reveals she’s not only a virgin but a nun. Played by Rosie O’Donnell, the character “Mary” tells Miranda after the hookup: “I’ve never experienced anything like that. Oh, you are really, really something.” She goes on, “It felt so, I don’t know, electric, and yet, still so natural.”

“This is my first time with anyone. I’m a virgin. Well, I was a virgin. Yes. I’m a nun,” she adds.

Cue Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) turning the whole thing into a joke: “So, you deflowered the Virgin Mary?”

To many watching, this "punchline" was not at all funny. It landed as tired, cheap, and frankly, offensive. Scroll through X (formerly Twitter), and you’ll find the same exasperated tone echoed over and over. One user asked, “Why is Christianity the only religion that is regularly mocked in television and film?”

Another, more bluntly, wrote, “When will Hollywood be brave enough to show Muslims banging each other at Mecca?” If that comment made you cringe (because you know how offensive and absurd it would be on screen), then it should hit the same when it’s Christianity being mocked.

Writers in Hollywood tiptoe around depictions of Islam and Judaism in media, understanding that those communities deserve basic respect. However, for Christianity, there’s no such restraint. In fact, mocking Christians almost feels like a requirement in shows. You can spoof priests, sexualize nuns, turn Jesus into a meme, and if anyone objects to this, they’re immediately branded as a "bigot" or "prude."

I have to ask, why is there no consistency? Either we respect religion, or we don’t. If it’s unthinkable to write a plot where a Muslim woman in hijab gets seduced by a stranger at a bar, or a Hasidic Jewish man renounces his vows in a cringey sex scene, then why is it always open season on Christians?

Sure, some people are thoroughly entertained by the messy plot of And Just Like That. That doesn’t change the fact that Christianity is sacred to millions of people. Even if writers don’t personally believe in it, does that really give them a free pass to disrespect it? The truth is, the scene wasn’t brave or empowering at all. If anything, it was predictable and tired. And, if we’re being honest, kind of lazy writing.

You can’t call yourself inclusive while casually mocking the one group that’s still considered safe to ridicule. Why can't writers recognize that other people’s beliefs deserve the same dignity they demand for their own?

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