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After prompting angry responses to his antisemitic Instagram post, American actor Eric Marlon Bishop, known as Jamie Foxx, said he understands his words caused offense and was sorry. Last week Foxx said “They killed this dude name [sic] Jesus… what do you think they’ll do to you?” followed by the hashtags #fakefriends and #fakelove, in a post seen by many of his 16.7 million followers as a resounding antisemitic message.
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“I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words has caused offense and I’m sorry. That was never my intent,” he said.
“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,” he wrote.
Though the original post itself has made it unclear as to what or which Foxx was referring to, links in the comments directed to articles referring to Jews and the original killers of Jesus Christ in the New Testament – an accusation that has been used to fuel antisemitic debate for centuries.
Some of those commenting on the post applauded the actor’s words, while others compared the posts to those made by rapper Kanye West, who became a controversial figure in the U.S. entertainment industry following his comments.
Further, Foxx later shared a comment from another user on his post, reading “Judas showed his self!!! [Jamie Foxx] know them for what they are.”
The post was later removed from Foxx’s account after several hours, and a company owned by the actor has refused to comment on the cryptic statement.
Foxx’s career has been successful in both the film and music industries, releasing five albums and starring alongside other Hollywood celebrities in movies such as Django Unchained and Baby Driver.
Earlier this year, Foxx was hospitalized due to what has been described as a “medical situation” by his relatives and was recently released from the hospital, though no new information has emerged about the star’s specific condition.
First published: 15:09, 08.05.23