Disney recently came under fire for referencing Satan in the new Disney+ series The Santa Clauses, starring Tim Allen.

Country musician John Rich criticized a moment in the third episode of the show when a group of elves get in formation to spell out “We love you, Santa,” but instead, mistakenly spell out “We love you, Satan.””New kids show from Disney. Keep in mind, this made it through the editing process and to the final product,” tweeted country musician John Rich on Nov. 28.

New kids show from Disney. Keep in mind, this made it through the editing process and to the final product. pic.twitter.com/wrcqIzg8xm John Rich?? (@johnrich) November 28, 2022

Santa, played by Allen, quickly corrects the elves’ spelling mistake and instructs them to fix their message. After the elves fix their mistake, Santa gives them a thumbs up.

According to CBN News, the scene sparked outrage and debate online, in which some accused Disney of pushing a “We love Satan” message to its viewers. Politifact, however, rated that claim false, noting that outraged viewers misunderstood the scene.

“In context that’s missing from both the blog and Instagram post, this is clearly a joke,” the outlet wrote.

The Christmas show has been the center of much controversy. The show first received backlash after Allen’s character, Scott Calvin or Santa Claus, proclaimed that he was upset because “Saying Merry Christmas to all has suddenly become problematic!”

“It just struck me as a truly weird thing to put in a kid’s series,” Filmmaker Scott Weinberg tweeted in response to the controversy. “‘[Someone] wants to stop us from saying Merry Christmas!’ is not some random campaign. It’s a low-key effort to vilify anyone who doesn’t celebrate this holiday. In a grown-up movie, I’d just groan and ignore it.”

it just struck me as a truly weird thing to put in a kid’s series. “<someone> wants to stop us from saying Merry Christmas!” is not some random campaign. it’s a low-key effort to vilify anyone who doesn’t celebrate this holiday. in a grown-up movie I’d just groan and ignore it. Scott Weinberg (@scottEmovienerd) November 17, 2022

One Twitter user, who said he was a professional Santa, rebuked the inclusion of the line in the show.

“As a professional Santa, I know that’s bull. Biggest problem is [right-wing] pundits claiming things like ‘Merry Christmas,’ decorations, and songs are being banned,” he wrote. “I spend a chunk of my time as a Santa calming down old folks who believe Christmas is being taken from them. It’s cruel.”

The Santa Clauses, which is now available on Disney+, is the sequel to the first three The Santa Clause films in which Allen plays Santa.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, Allen shared that the show will have a religious focus on Christmas.

“It originally had a lot of otherworldly characters, and ghosts, and goblins. I said no, this is Christ-mas. Its Christ-mas. It literally is a religious holiday,” Allen told The Wrap in a recent interview. “We don’t have to blow trumpets, but I do want you to acknowledge it. That’s what this is about. If you want to get into Santa Claus, you’re gonna have to go back to history, and it’s all about religion.”

Related:

‘This is Christ-mas’: Tim Allen Says New The Santa Clauses Series Will Highlight Religion in Christmas

Photo courtesy: Alicia Slough/Unsplash

Video courtesy: Disney

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. He is also the co-hosts of the For Your Soul podcast, which seeks to equip the church with biblical truth and sound doctrine. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.