UNITED STATES: Actor Jamie Foxx issued an apology on Saturday for a recent Instagram post about the death of Jesus Christ, which some people, including actress Jennifer Aniston, considered to be antisemitic.
“They killed this dude named Jesus,” Foxx said in a recent Instagram post that is no longer visible on his account, as per the screenshots. “What do you think they’ll do to you???! #fakefriends #fakelove”
Some Instagram users believed that Foxx’s use of the word “they” in a post referred to the long-held conspiracy theory that Jews were primarily to blame for Christ’s execution by the Roman Empire for alleged acts of sedition.
Anti-hate organisations like the Anti-Defamation League have previously called this myth a “myth” that is used to justify anti-Jewish violence.
A Jewish news account, A Wider Frame, shared the screenshot, calling it “horrifically antisemitic.” Jennifer Aniston, who had liked Foxx’s post, faced criticism from some followers, leading her to clarify that she did not support any form of antisemitism and did not like the post intentionally or by accident.
“This really makes me sick. I did not ‘like’ this post on purpose or by accident. And more important, I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feeds: I do NOT support any form of antisemitism,” Aniston posted on her Instagram stories.
On Saturday, Foxx addressed concerns about his post, vehemently denying any intention of referring to Jewish people.
Foxx posted a follow-up on Saturday, saying, “I want to apologise to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post.”
“I now know my choice of words has caused offence, and I’m sorry. That was never my intent. 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,” his post further added.
David Krumholtz, an actor from “Oppenheimer,” responded to Foxx’s apology, stating, “I am Jewish, and I thought it was one helluva leap to call it antisemitic. I knew exactly what you meant. Everybody needs to chill.”
Foxx, who starred in “They Cloned Tyrone” with John Boyega and Teyonah Parris, has been in the news lately following his hospitalisation in April for undisclosed reasons.
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