Actor Jamie Foxx, who recently recovered from a health scare, was accused of anti-Semitism following an Instagram post posted in the early hours of August 5. The post, which appeared to be some kind of cautionary warning from Foxx about “fake friends,” received backlash from some on social media.
Jennifer Aniston, best known for her role on the sitcom Friends, posted a stern reminder on her Instagram Stories where she stands on the topic of anti-Semitism, US Magazine reported. She was accused of liking Foxx’s post.
Aniston wrote: “This really makes me sick. I did not ‘like’ this post on purpose or by accident. And more importantly, I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feeds—I do NOT support antisemitism. And I truly don’t tolerate HATE of any kind. Period.”
In what seems like an incredible misread of what Foxx intended, some online thought that Foxx was invoking the idea that the Jewish people were responsible for the death of Jesus Christ and bear that guilt forever.
The post read: “They killed this dude name Jesus … What do you think hey’ll do to you???!” he wrote on both his Instagram and Instagram Story, alongside “Fake Friends” and “Fake Love” hashtags.
It is unclear if there will be any consequences or assignments from Foxx from organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, but Jewish scholars and activists were not happy with Foxx.
Brooke Goldstein, author of End Jew Hatred: A Manual For Mobilization wrote on Twitter: “Once again a celebrity fanning the flames of Jew hatred on social media. This blood libel has motivated violent acts of persecution against Jewish people for centuries. As a fellow minority Jamie should know better how dangerous this is. I urge him to educate himself on this topic.”
The discussion online, particularly from Black Twitter, seems to be centered on the idea that this was not intended as a swipe at Jewish people or the Jewish faith.
Foxx, in his apology post, said as much: “To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that’s what I meant with ‘they’ not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended.”
Foxx closed his statement with three heart emojis in succession.