Did Pope Francis Ever Forgive Mark Wahlberg for ‘Ted’?
Pope Francis is famous for weighing in on controversial issues, from the climate crisis to the morality of capitalism to Trump’s immigration policies. But we never got definitive word on one of the moral crises of our times: Had he forgiven Mark Wahlberg for the sins of Ted?
It’s not quite as frivolous a question as it sounds. Wahlberg, a famously public Catholic, was part of the festivities when Pope Francis visited the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in 2015. A young singer who was performing at the event told Wahlberg how much he liked Ted, which put the actor in a funny position. While he likely appreciated the compliment, he knew the raunchy comedy wasn’t appropriate for kids.
“Holy Father, please forgive me,” Wahlberg implored the Pope. “I’ve always hoped that the good Lord has a sense of humor when it comes and pertains to many of the movies that I’ve made.” Notably, Wahlberg did not ask to be forgiven for the racially motivated hate crimes he was charged with in the 1980s, serving jail time for one of the offenses.
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While Wahlberg would have appreciated the Pope’s mercy on the comedy front, he already claimed to have the thumbs up from a higher power: God Himself. “Being a very religious guy too, I’ve always said, whether it be Ted or this movie (Flight Risk) or anything else, that God’s a fan of movies and has a sense of humor,” he told People earlier this year.
God is a fan of the cinema? Okay, sure, why not? That must be why Wahlberg decided it was fine to make Ted 2 the same year he asked the Pope to forgive him for the first Ted. Just in case, though, he laid the movie’s sins at the feet of Seth MacFarlane. “Here’s the great thing, I’m an actor for hire, and Seth is the writer and director and the voice of the bear. He takes full responsibility, and he’s never been one to tone anything down,” Wahlberg told Uproxx, absolving himself of any comedy sins. “Seth is not one to censor himself.”
While Wahlberg told MacFarlane he wouldn’t joke about religion, he was cool with Ted making whatever jokes he wanted. “If you want Ted to say whatever Ted wants to say,” he said, “that’s up to you.”
None of this, of course, answers the (possibly literally) burning question: Did Pope Francis forgive Mark Wahlberg after his public ask for absolution? X user @pugmane has the answer: