The spoof features SNL cast members playing pop stars and saying Jews "own all the movie studios and banks" and Christians have forgiven them "for killing our Lord."
After the skit aired Dec. 4, Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, complained to the network. Foxman said the parody was offensive because it contained "anti-Semitic stereotypes at their worst."
NBC Executive Vice President Rosalyn Weinman responded by saying the offending lines would be edited out of any future rebroadcasts of the show.
However, Monday (Dec. 20), NBC released a statement saying Weinman had been "premature" and that the show would be broadcast as originally run. No date for rebroadcast has been set.
The statement said SNL viewers who contacted the network "overwhelmingly felt that this sketch was a typical parody and was in the boundaries of the show's humor. We regret if the material offended anyone."
The statement also said that "today's environment makes our judgment calls in these situations increasingly difficult because we must find a balance between being politically correct and being funny in a non-hurtful way."
Foxman told The Washington Post he was "saddened" that NBC "took the low road rather than the high road and didn't follow the standard that was set in their original decision."
