Jennifer Aniston Caught Up in Storm Over Jamie Foxx Post

Accusations of antisemitism, misunderstanding of Black vernacular abound
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 7, 2023 7:54 AM CDT
Jamie Foxx Says Sorry for Post Decried as Antisemitic
Jamie Foxx arrives at the premiere of "Day Shift" on Aug. 10 at Regal LA Live in Los Angeles.   (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Jamie Foxx continues to make headlines, but this time it has nothing to do with his mystery illness. The 55-year-old Ali and Django actor caused ripples over the weekend after putting up a post online that some decried as antisemitic, then issuing an apology for it. The offending post, which USA Today notes Foxx has since deleted, read: "They killed this dude named Jesus ... What do you think they'll do to you???!" He added the hashtags #fakefriends and #fakelove to his post, which immediately generated backlash after some interpreted it to be pushing an old antisemitic trope that Jews were responsible for Jesus' death.

Foxx soon issued an apology on Instagram, noting, "I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I'm sorry. ... I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community." Foxx also explained that his original post was simply meant to convey he'd been "betrayed by a fake friend" and nothing more. And indeed, many came out to defend Foxx, with one noting that "they killed Jesus" is a familiar colloquialism in the Black community used when someone has betrayed you. That context, along with Foxx's apology, seemed to clarify what had happened.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote that he accepted Foxx's apology and offered the star well wishes in his continued recuperation. Greenblatt also noted that Foxx had reached out privately. "His message of love for the Jewish community is crucial in this time of rising hate," Greenblatt wrote. "We are stronger together." Still others acknowledged that Foxx's explanation seemed sincere, but that everyone should realize why his post had gone so wrong. "[A]ntisemitism is so present right now maybe you can understand why some got nervous," one person commented online.

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At least one other big name was caught in the crossfire of this controversy: Jennifer Aniston, whose own social media account "liked" Foxx's original slammed post. The Friends actor later addressed that apparent thumbs-up, per Us Weekly. "This really makes me sick. I did not 'like' this post on purpose or by accident," the 54-year-old wrote Saturday in a since-expired Instagram story. "I do NOT support antisemitism. And I truly don't tolerate HATE of any kind. Period." Some on Twitter came down on Aniston for going after Foxx's post without fully understanding the context. (Foxx recently gave a shoutout to his sister for saving his life.)

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