Playboy has pulled the plug on the Portuguese edition of the magazine after the editors planned a spread showing Jesus among topless women–a tribute to Jose Saramago’s novel, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ.
The novel generated global controversy for painting a human (and imperfect) picture of Jesus. According to the Daily Mail, Portuguese edition created a pornographic spread in homage to the novel–the cover image showed Jesus holding a half-naked woman and other photos showed him standing next to a number of other naked women.
Here’s more from the article: “Theresa Hennessy, Playboy Enterprises vice president of public relations told the Mail Online: ‘We did not see or approve the cover and pictorial in the July issue of Playboy Portugal … We are in the process of terminating our agreement with the Portuguese publisher.'”