Richard Belzer Fights PC Hordes over Nazi Salute

"Law and Order SVU" star Richard Belzer is in hot water over what he insists was a comic homage to the late Charlie Chaplin and not, say, an expression of his fealty to the Nazi tradition.

A spokesperson for the actor told TMZ that he was in a conversation with a reporter about the Charlie Chaplin film "The Great Dictator," and was re-enacting a scene from the movie in a pose.

Belzer tated: "My grandfather represented Israel in the UN before it was made a nation. I'm a Jewish comedian, and there's this new thing out, it's called satire, irony and historical reference."

He added: "To say that a Jew can't do that gesture as homage to Chaplin's masterpiece 'The Great Dictator' is like Muslim extremists killing a cartoonist for disparaging Mohammed in his art."

"The Great Dictator" is a comedy by Charlie Chaplin released in October 1940.