NBC is in the spin control zone thanks to its stunt casting of Britney Spears on Will & Grace.

Earlier this week, NBC issued a press release touting Spears' guest appearance on the sitcom. Per the Peacock's PR department, Spears, in her first television outing since having a baby, would appear on the Apr. 13 episode playing a religious conservative TV personality who winds up cohosting a talk show with Jack ( Sean Hayes). Spears' character, the release said, would emcee a cooking segment called "Cruci-fixin's."


Faster than you could say, "Oops, they did it again," NBC was facing another beef from the American Family Association.

The conservative Tupelo, Mississippi-based group, whose protests helped lead to the cancellation of the network's The Book of Daniel, was ready to call for a boycott of NBC, saying the Spears-fronted episode "mocks the crucifixion of Christ" and "further denigrates Christianity" because the show airs the night before Good Friday. The AFA is urging its supporters to contact NBC affiliates and demand they not broadcast it.


"NBC is clearly mocking the Christian faith," the group's founder, Don Wildmon, says on the AFA Website. "They clearly have hostility toward the Christian faith, They absolutely will not treat Jews or Muslims in this manner, but I think they are smarting from the Book of Daniel defeat that they suffered, and this is their way to get even."


Wildmon was one of several activists who blasted The Book of Daniel for its portrayal of a pill-popping priest who, when not conversing with Jesus, deals with his gay son and drug-dealing daughter. Several affiliates declined to air the show and many advertisers pulled their ads; after four episodes, NBC pulled the plug.


For its part, NBC bristled at allegations it was intentionally trying to poke fun at Christians, issuing a statement chalking up the dispute to unnamed trigger-happy publicist.


"Some erroneous information was mistakenly included in a press release describing an upcoming episode of Will & Grace, which, in fact, has yet to be written," the network said in a statement, which was disseminated to its affiliates. "The reference to 'Cruci-fixins' will not be in the show and the storyline will not contain a Christian characterization at all. We value our viewers and sincerely regret if this misinformation has offended them."


Spears' reps were unavailable for comment on the controversy.


It's been a big week in bicoastal Britney news.


On Thursday, a New York state appeals court dismissed a lawsuit brought by the husband of a woman who died six years ago during a hoax orchestrated by a Binghamton radio station involving a Spears impersonator.


The suit, filed by Paul Santodonato, accused Clear Channel Broadcasting, the owner of the offending WMRV-FM, of fraud and negligence. He said his 37-year-old wife, Susan, died in June 2000 after falling and hitting her head as she stood among a throng of the "Toxic" singer's fans, who rushed a limousine carrying the fake Spears. In its decision, the appellate court ruled that Santodonato failed to offer proof regarding the cause of his wife's fall and also failed to prove she was unable to find a safe place away from the crowd.