Car brand Porsche has come under heavy attack for editing giant Jesus’ statue out of an advertisement celebrating 60 years of the Porsche 911.
Last week, the German luxurious sports cars company released a roughly two-and-a-half-minute ad in a bid to promote a special edition model of the Porsche 911 vehicle, known as the 2024 Porsche 911 S/T. The company posted to its website a video advert of the Porsche 911 driving through Lisbon, Portugal.
However, at about 44 seconds into the video advert when the car drives past the Cristo Rei landmark, It was observed that the 92-feet-tall statue of Jesus was absent from atop the 269-feet-tall concrete pedestal that remains visible.
The Santuário de Cristo Rei, or the Sanctuary of Christ the King which overlooks the Tagus River that divides the Portuguese cities of Almada and Lisbon was installed in 1959, after ten years of work, to express gratitude to God for keeping the city safe during the second world war.
The advert which was released during the celebration of Catholic-sponsored World Youth Day in Lisbon sparked backlash on Twitter. Porsche however has apologized for editing out the status, reports Fox Business.
A new video with the status was created while the previous one was made private on youtube and unavailable to watch. “In an early version of a film created in Europe, the Cristo Rei Statue does not appear. We are truly sorry and can fully understand the hurt this has caused. This film has been removed” said Porsche in a statement.
The missing statue was first spotted by a social media user on X whose post calling out The apparent edit went viral.
They have now made the video private on YouTube.
I’ll just leave it here.
I don’t think @elonmusk will cave to censorship on this platform. pic.twitter.com/abNLNJAler— Alex B. (@maisumcarneiro) August 6, 2023
I think it was a wonderful idea, and an addition to the company. In my eyes they were thanking God for a successful business. I see nothing wrong with the ad.
When did I say that? If I did I am saying it again. That is my right!
I gave my comment and you rejected it by saying i had already said it. I said what i believed. i will pray for God’s convicting spirit upon you.