Holy mother of God—Pamela Anderson is Russell Peters’s Virgin Mary

It’s not exactly an immaculate casting choice: Pamela Anderson will be playing the Virgin Mary in A Russell Peters Christmas Special, described as an irreverent 1970s-style variety show. She’ll be acting alongside Russell Peters himself, who plays a “guido” Joseph (like Jersey Shore, you see—very timely). Peters told CTV News he picked the actress because “hey, Pam Anderson is Canadian,” and not for the infamy she garnered from Baywatch, Playboy and, um, a leaked home movie that was filmed on a boat. “I didn’t even think of the other side of Pam Anderson, which is so long ago,” Peters said. “It’s like, come on, give the chick a break already.” Give us a break, Russell. Even with plastic surgery, she’s still the sex symbol she used to be—although Peters joked that he was hoping to have a kissing scene (sorry, she’s no Whore of Babylon). Viewers hoping for some Bethlehem burlesque when the show airs tomorrow will have to be satisfied with the troupe of dancing lingerie models surrounding Michael Bublé, and we’re fairly confident that never happened in the Gospels either.

• Russell Peters defends Pam Anderson as Virgin Mary [CTV]