5:48 pm, June 12th, 2012
PHOTOS
(TMZ)
Richard Belzer gave the Nazi salute during a photo call at the Monte Carlo Television Festival in Monaco on Tuesday — a jarring visual that TMZ immediately posted.
To drive home the point, he also placed two fingers on his upper lip to mimic Adolf Hilter’s mustache.
But Gossip Cop is told there was actually some context for the outwardly questionable gesture.
A rep for Belzer tells us the comedian (who is Jewish) was responding to a reporter who had asked about Charlie Chaplin.
The salute, we’re told, was meant as a comedic riff on Chaplin and The Great Dictator, Chaplin’s classic takedown of Hitler.
The rep says it was obvious to people there that Belzer was doing it for laughs, and that it’s “ludicrous and insulting” for anyone to interpret the gesture as a serious nod to Nazism.
It’s worth pointing out that Belzer made a series of other obviously farcical “poses” during the appearance, as seen below.
Tell us what you think of Belzer’s salute in the comments section.
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(GettyImages.com)
(GettyImages.com)
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