Netflix’s ‘Mary’ Faces Major Backlash, Joel Osteen To Blame?

ByJohn Witiw
Joel Osteen & 'Mary' - YouTube

Mary is a 2024 film based around the mother of Jesus. However, the film, released in time for Christmas, has recently received backlash since its release. Some of the criticism highlighted executive producer and producer Joel Osteen.

Viewers Have Criticized Certain Scenes & The Film’s Cast

The film tells the story of the Virgin Mary, starting with her own early childhood to the birth of Jesus. Depicting Mary and Joseph’s flight into Egypt with the newborn Jesus, the story ends with their return to Jerusalem.

Actress Noa Cohen played Mary herself, with her younger self played by Mila Harris. Ido Tako played Joseph. Dudley O’Shaughnessy plays the angel Gabriel. Anthony Hopkins plays the antagonistic King Herod.

Netflix's 'Mary' - YouTube
Noa Cohen in Netflix’s ‘Mary’ – YouTube

However, since the film’s release on December 6, 2024, some viewers thought the film took too many liberties with the source material. Many viewers have also taken to social media to criticize these changes.

In particular, Mary and Jospeh are given a “meet-cute” of sorts, in which the two meet while Mary is washing clothes. As noted by Meaww, some fans found this pandering, thinking the scene was just added to appeal to modern viewers.

The publication noted many of the scenes that startled fans included a depiction of Satan. In one scene, Joseph is seen stabbing the demon. Another scene had the angel Gabriel address Lucifer as “brother,” possibly in reference to Satan’s traditional backstory as an angel.

Some Viewers Called Out Joel Osteen In Particular

A few viewers even quoted scripture for comparison’s sake during their discussions. The film depicts Joseph as being unaware of what to name Jesus, despite an angel revealing Jesus’ name to him in a dream in the biblical account. This caused one viewer to quote Matthew 1:20-21.

Before the film’s release, there had been some criticism over the film’s casting. Some criticized the casting of Israeli actors in the project proved controversial amid the current Israel-Palestine conflict.

However, in a statement with Entertainment Weekly, director D.J. Curso defended the casting. As he said, this was done for the sake of “authenticity.” He noted it was important that the primary cast, especially Mary herself, “be selected from Israel.”

Many viewers took to social media to criticize these changes. One X user wrote, “It’s when Angel Gabriel said ‘Lucifer brother’ that I got reminded that Hollywood could never bring me any true depiction of a Biblical story.”

As noted by Meaww, pastor Joel Osteen served as an executive producer on the film. Some of the critics on social media named Osteen in their discussions of the film.

One user noted, “That new ‘Mary’ movie on Netflix is nothing but fanfiction BS that Joel Osteen cooked up with his greedy little fingers. Damn near nothing biblical about it; just pure nonsense.” Another wrote, “The only controversial thing about the Netflix ‘Mary’ movie should be that Joel Osteen is listed as executive producer.”

Have you seen Netflix’s Mary? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest TV and celebrity news.

John Witiw
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