It was only a few weeks ago that fans didn’t even know whether Jamie Foxx was dead or alive and now the actor is apologizing for a supposed antisemitic remark he made in reference to fake friendships.
To say it’s been a rough last few months for Jamie Foxx would be a massive understatement. Back in March, the actor suffered what is being described as a ‘medical emergency’ that put him out of the public eye for months.
With rumors that the actor had either died, was paralyzed, or even blind, Foxx finally made a public statement on social media a few weeks back announcing that he had been in the hospital for a significant point of time without describing exactly what put him there in the first place.
While it seems like Jamie Foxx was on a very long road to recovery, a post that he made on his Instagram account resulted in him apologizing for allegedly taking a shot at Jewish people.
Late last week the actor posted on his Instagram account the following message that infuriated the Jewish community. Foxx posted the following caption, “They killed this dude named Jesus…what do you think they’ll do to you #fakefriends #fakelove”
While the overwhelming majority of people who read Foxx’s comment assumed that he was making a statement against people who pretend to be your friends but truly aren’t, a small minority of people took Foxx’s comment as a slight against the Jewish community.
Members of the Jewish community especially in Hollywood called Foxx’s statements antisemitic over the implication that the word “they” was a reference to the Jews.
Journalist Eve Barlow tweeted, “I am a Jewish advocate who fights antisemitism. Jamie Foxx’s post was a horrifically antisemitic message rooted in classic blood libel and anti Jewish conspiracy theory. He has 16.7 million followers. I’m not waiting on him to further expand.”
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According to Jewish advocacy groups, claiming that the Jews killed Jesus is an antisemitic dog whistle.
Melissa Weiss, Executive Editor at Jewish Insider, wrote, “Seeing someone like Jamie Foxx post antisemitic content is a sad reminder that Jews can’t just exist like most everyone else. There will always be people who hate us.”
Roz Rothstein, the CEO and co-founder of Stand With Us, tweeted, “I condemn this shameful, dangerous antisemitism posted by Jamie Foxx. Violence by racists against minorities always begins with words, just like this: Jamie Foxx says ‘they killed this dude name Jesus’ in post echoing antisemitic tropes.”
Many who practice Judaism reject Jesus Christ as their savior and Messiah. As a result, they reject the notion that Jews killed their Messiah despite the fact that Christ was crucified for claiming to be God and the king of the Jews.
Some in the Jewish community have gone as far as to push the narrative that anyone who claims that “Jesus Christ is Lord” is also pushing antisemitism claiming that professing Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and Savior of sinners is an attack on Jewish people who deny him.
Terror_Alarm, who claims “most of the tweets on our Twitter feed are AI-generated,” wrote on Twitter at the beginning of this month, “Antisemitic phrase ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ is trending. Why is Elon Musk doing nothing while antisemitic Christian fundamentalists use bots to manipulate Twitter’s algorithm and distort the trending page?”
While some claim that Jamie Foxx’s statement was offensive, many pointed out that Foxx’s comment had absolutely no context to the Jewish people whatsoever. The phrase “They killed Jesus” is a common phrase used in the black community to profess how those who claim to have your back are the first to betray you.
Many view the post as a reference to Judas who was the disciple who betrayed Christ before he was crucified for claiming to be the king of the Jews.
No matter the context, the actor put out a public apology for his perceived antisemitic remarks. Foxx apologized and explained his comments writing on Instagram, “I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I’m sorry. That was never my intent.”
He then explained what he meant, “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.”
Foxx concluded, “My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended. Nothing but love always.”
The original statement that Jamie Foxx made caused so much uproar that even actress Jennifer Aniston had to end up apologizing for it as well.
Aniston, who liked Foxx’s initial post, issued a statement condemning what he said after word got out that it upset the Jewish community.
She wrote in an Instagram story, “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 any form of antisemitism. And I truly don’t tolerate HATE of any kind. Period.”
The situation with Jamie Foxx has caused tension within the Black and Jewish communities, many in the Black community feel Foxx’s apology was unwarranted as the post was not directed at Jews at all while others says otherwise.
What is your take on the Jamie Foxx’s original comments and his subsequent apology?