Jesus, Budweiser Billboard Defaced

Display Was Part Of Artscape

BALTIMORE -- Is it art or an advertisement? A billboard in a Baltimore neighborhood is drawing fire from people and paint cans alike.

The artist believes it's art, but it looks like an advertisement with Jesus as a pitchman for Budweiser beer. The painting shows Jesus holding a bottle of beer.

Sometime Sunday night, someone tried to whitewash the message by splashing paint all over the painting. The person who threw the paint left behind the can and a mess.

The billboard was part of Artscape, the downtown Baltimore art festival held last week. It was designed by a New Jersey artist and has been the source of many church discussions recently.

WBAL-TV 11 News in Baltimore couldn't find anyone who agreed with its message. One person said, "People are getting killed in accidents because of beer. But they got Jesus holding a beer up and that's not right."

However, most people also agreed that splashing white paint on the billboard was not the answer. One resident said, "Anybody can do the art they want to. If you don't like it, you should say so, but you shouldn't just destroy it.

Late Monday afternoon, the city removed the billboard. They say, not because some people find it offensive, but because it was covered in paint.

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