London, Dec 15 : Comedian Ricky Gervais was slammed by Church leaders on Wednesday, after he said Jesus "lets little children starve" so they will be "thin in Heaven".

The 50-year-old actor had sparked outrage after posting a comment regarding Jesus on his Twitter page.

"If Jesus loves the little children then why does he let them starve? Because he wants them all thin in heaven. Duh!" the Daily Star quoted him tweeting.

The Rev Michael Clarke, of Banbury, criticised him for his comments.

"His comments are not only stupid, they are in bad taste, especially at this time of year."

Fans of the actor also condemned him for his remark.

"The fact is Ricky Gervais was funny once but he just isn't any more," Julia Marshall, of Leamington Spa, Warks, said.

Gervais had been forced to apologise two months ago for joking with the word "mong", an abusive term for disabled people. (ANI)