Porsche edits giant Jesus statue out of ad, apologizes for offending Christians

High-end car brand Porsche is getting backlash after they released an advertisement that edited out the Cristo Rei—the large statue of Jesus Christ that overlooks Lisbon, Portugal—in celebration of 60 years of the Porsche 911 model.  

The advertisement without the Jesus statue was deleted from Porsche's YouTube channel and replaced with one with the statue intact. A twitter user pointed out the deletion on Saturday.  

The tweet has been viewed over five million times since then and has gone viral.  

The promotional video features the new Porsche 9/11 model which has been around for 60 years. Minimum payment for a new model starts at $290,000 and boasts a 0 - 60 speed in 3.5 seconds with 518 maximum horsepower.  

The advertisement centers around what appears to be the changing model of the 9/11 over the course of time, starting with older models and going up to the modern day.  

Porsche eventually apologized for the controversy. A spokesman told the Daily Mail, "In a previously-uploaded version of the 911 S/T launch film, a landmark was removed."  

"This was a mistake, and we apologize for any offence caused. The original film is online now," the statement continued.  

The Coalition of Canceled Priests, a group of former Catholic priests who have been removed from their positions after "being unjustly canceled by their bishops," said on Twitter, "Boycott @Porsche Jesus Christ is King" in response to the controversy.  

As Christianity has been on a general decline in the United States, the advertisement and other incidents, such as the recent arrest of a teen reading the Bible to protest a drag story hour, have occurred.  

The monument, made in the image of Jesus Christ, was completed in the 1950s and is an iconic image of the city in Portugal. It represents the religious gratitude of the country for avoiding the carnage of World War II and is similar to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, Brazil.