NEW YORK — Legendary standup comic Jackie Mason weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding fellow comic Joy Behar’s mocking of Vice President Mike Pence over his religious convictions, with Mason exclaiming that Behar is not only “vulgar” and “crude,” but that she “talks to the devil.”

“She is a different kind of a person,” stated Mason. “She doesn’t believe in religion and she is a vulgar, crude person by nature.”

Continued Mason: “I’ll tell you what it really is. He (Pence) might talk to Jesus, but she talks to the devil. Joy Behar, she has the talent of a crutch. What a vulgar, crude person she is to make fun of a person who has legitimate religious convictions. Because she believes in nothing. That’s why she talks to the devil.”

Mason was speaking during his regular segment on this reporter’s talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” broadcast on New York’s AM 970 The Answer and NewsTalk 990 AM.

The controversy started last week when “The View” co-host Behar stated of Pence: “It’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s another thing when Jesus talk to you. That’s called mental illness, if I’m not correct. Hearing voices.”

In response, Pence himself slammed Behar’s comments as “evidence of how out of touch some in the mainstream media are with the faith and values of the American people.”

“I’d like to laugh about it, but I really can’t,” Pence said in comments to Axios last week.

He took to Twitter to further discuss his faith:

I do try and start every day reading the Bible. My wife and I try to have a prayer together before I leave the house every morning. But I do think I’m a very typical American. I think people of all different faith traditions cherish their faith in God. https://t.co/evs2Wvr6fB — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 19, 2018

Pence never actually said that Jesus talks to him. Those comments originated with former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman, who made the following remarks on “Celebrity Big Brother”:

As bad as you think Trump is, you would be worried about Pence… everyone that is wishing for impeachment might want to reconsider their life… I am Christian, I love Jesus, but he thinks Jesus tells him to say things.

Behar last Thursday addressed the controversy on air but she didn’t apologize. “I don’t mean to offend people but apparently I keep doing it,” she said on “The View.” “It was a joke.”

However, some viewers are not having it. The Media Research Center has demanded an apology and reported that some 25,000 people called into ABC as of Monday morning to complain about the issue.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook