Forgotten A**holes History Looks Back on The Worst Pope

In an ideal world, a Venn diagram of “Popes” and “People Who Throw Crazy Sex Parties” would be two completely separate circles. In our world, there is a depressing amount of overlap. Take, for instance, Pope Benedict IX. He became head of the Catholic church at the tender age of 20. Like many young, rich kids, he made a lot of bad decisions. But most young, rich kids making bad decisions aren’t the head of the Catholic church.

You may never have heard of Benedict IX, which is why “Forgotten Assholes of History” is here to remind us. The series previously looked at the British dude who — whoops — invented concentration camps. This episode focuses on a man who would probably be an asshole even if he was just a normal prince. And not, y’know, the head of the Catholic church. Popes shouldn’t have armies. Popes shouldn’t be able to sell their office and then take it back. And Popes really shouldn’t be throwing orgies in the Vatican. That’s what an asshole would do.