Tara Strong has been fired from her role as Bill the Orphan in the Bandit Mill Animation-produced animated series Boxtown, following a series of tweets in which the voice actress weighed in on the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Further, Strong claimed to have not been informed about the decision and went on to accuse the studio of anti-Semitism, proposing that she was fired for being Jewish. The voice actress’ reaction was prompted by a post shared by the official Boxtown account on X, which revealed that the character she was playing on the show was being recast.
“Hello all! Just wanted to offer a quick update on Boxtown,” prefaced the statement. “We will be recasting the role of Bill (previously played by Tara Strong). We’ll have more info soon on open auditions. Thanks for y’all’s understanding as we re-orient and figure out the next steps.”
“Just found out on twitter!” Strong claimed in response to Boxtown’s initial post, decrying, “This is what happens when you help fans get shows made I guess,” further alleging, “Fired for being Jewish. Glad I helped you get your kickstarter money.”
As she concluded, Strong encouraged her former colleagues to “Please lose my email address & pray for my family in Israel and in Gaza.”
A few days after the initial announcement, Bandit Mill Animation took to social media to release an official statement addressing the recasting of Strong, confirming that it was the voice actress’ posts regarding the Hamas-Israel armed conflict what prompted the decision to part ways with her.
“As some of you may have heard, Tara Strong is no longer involved with Boxtown or Bandit Mill Animation and will no longer be voicing the character of ‘Bill the Orphan,'” the statement declared. “This decision was due to a trend among Tara’s recent online activity, including posts that promote controversial messages regarding the peoples of Palestine currently being affected by the ongoing Israel-Palestine crisis.”
It continued, “We believe that our public platform gives us a duty to be careful when it comes to hateful messages and misinformation online. This extends to our cast and crew.”
Next, they declared, “This was not a difficult decision.” Bandit Mill Animation then let their followers know that more information about the recasting would be shared at a later time.
“Our hearts are with the Palestinian and Israeli children and families being affected by the ongoing conflict,” the studio declared, adding, “People should be able to live freely without being threatened by constant abuse and terror,” before concluding, “We are hoping for the best.”
As pointed out by the studio, Strong had been vocally expressing her disdain for the armed conflict that has been unfolding since Hamas conducted a surprise attack in southern Israel last week, and condemning the actions of the terror group on social media.
“If you are PRO suffering, rape, murder of ANY innocent people, today I will block you,” the voice actress warned, alluding to some of the acts committed by Hamas during the initial invasion of Israel.
“We should all be praying for peace. To end ALL wars, near and far. To end the suffering of ALL innocent civilians everywhere regardless of political affiliation.”
Another post condemning the attacks carried out by Hamas was shared just a few hours later by Strong, who declared, “The fact that anyone CELEBRATES innocent lives lost is beyond disturbing.”
“Like, what kind of species are we? I’m so grateful I don’t comprehend that mindset,” she asserted. “There’s something very wrong with a terrifying amount of people on this platform, and this planet.”
“[Hamas] has successfully brainwashed the western world to actually believe that [terrorism] can be justified,” the voice actress further decried.
“World’s gone crazy,” Strong prefaced in another post, elaborating, “People ARGUING online about whether or not the mass raping,shooting & kidnapping of innocent young women from around the world at a music festival is justified!”
She continued, “Could happen at ANY music festival! Supporting terrorists empowers them & that’s globally terrifying.”
“For those who support the actions of [Hamas]; when they infiltrate your home town, on your soil, break into Jewish homes, raping, beheading innocent babies,will you applaud them?” Strong rhetorically inquired, doubling down, and asking, “Will you wave their flag while they slaughter Christians & Muslims who don’t believe their ideologies?”
Strong has since remained somewhat quiet on the ongoing armed conflict, with her last post regarding the Hama-Israel war revealing that she has made contributions towards the victims in both Gaza and Israel.
“I hope you’re ok, I’m not,” the voice actress bemoaned, explaining, “All news is heartbreaking & the images are repeating in my mind & I’m overwhelmed with sadness, just donating to innocents in [Gaza] & those suffering in [Israel].”
Strong then revealed that she’s donating money to Children of Peace; a non-partisan organization for Israeli and Palestinian children that aims to share “spirit and well-being through arts, education, health and sports. Working for peace, building trust, friendship and reconciliation.”
