Jamie Foxx issued an apology on social media, responding to backlash over a recent Instagram post that was criticized as being antisemitic. The 55-year-old star has come under fire for his choice of words, which some deemed offensive to the Jewish community.
The controversy stems from a now-deleted Instagram post made by Foxx, in which he wrote, “They killed this dude named Jesus … What do you think they’ll do to you???!”.
He also included in the post the hashtags “#fakefriends” and “#fakelove,” which according to Foxx, referred to a recent personal betrayal, not a broader group or the Jewish community.
Whoah. Jamie Foxx posted this to his Instagram story. pic.twitter.com/NM1VJmmJvE
— An0maly (@LegendaryEnergy) August 4, 2023
Foxx took to Instagram on Saturday, in an attempt to clear the misunderstanding, and shared a post expressing his regret and apologies.
“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,” wrote Foxx.
He continued, “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.”
More from USA Today:
Some took “they” to mean Jewish people, connecting it with a historic antisemitic trope that Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus.
However, as some social media users pointed out, the phrase used by Foxx is a common Black colloquialism to describe betrayal from a person meant to be one of your biggest supporters.
Foxx also reposted a message from restauranteur Mark Birnbaum on his Instagram Story, which stated, “As a close friend for 20 years @iamjamiefoxx is the most inclusive non antisemetic person out there. He’s got nothing but love for everyone including us Jews. Let’s move onto the next nonsensical story of the day.”
