Mark Burnett and actress Roma Downey, who are married, said Ouzaani played Satanic characters in other Biblical programs long before Obama was elected, and Downey also said, "Both Mark and I have nothing but respect and love our president, who is a fellow Christian. False statements such as these are just designed as a foolish distraction to try and discredit the beauty of the story of the Bible."
History Channel said in its own statement that the cable network has, quote, "the highest respect" for Obama, stating, "It's unfortunate that anyone made this false connection."