Actress Julianna Margulies (ER, The Good Wife) set the internet on fire this week when she said that the black community has been “brainwashed” to hate Jews.
Margulies issued her comment an on episode of The Back Room with Andy Ostroy podcast while talking about Israel-Hamas war in the wake of the horrific October 7 terrorist attack on the Jewish nation.
“I’m the first person to march [for] Black Lives Matter. When that happened to George Floyd, I put a black screen on my Instagram, like I ran to support my Black brothers and sisters,” Margulies said.
“When LGBTQ people are being attacked, I run. I made a commercial for same-sex marriages with my husband in 2012. Like I am the first person to jump up when something is wrong, as I think most Jews are, because we have been persecuted from the beginning of time, not just World War II, but literally from the beginning of time when we first lived in Israel way before anybody else,” she added.
Margulies did blame some of the rise in antisemitism on TikTok, the Chinese-controlled app that she said should be banned.
“I guess what’s happening to the crazy people out there who are getting their news from TikTok, which in my estimation — after this whole Osama bin Laden letter — should be banned. TikTok should be banned,” she said.
On the subject of the American black community, Margulies expressed dismay, saying that the “Jews were the ones that walked side by side with the Blacks to fight for their rights.”
“And now the Black community isn’t embracing us and saying we stand with you the way you stood with us? Jews died for their cause. Where’s the history lesson in that? Who’s teaching these kids?” she said. “Because the fact that the entire Black community isn’t standing with us, to me, says they don’t know, or they’ve been brainwashed. They hate Jews.”
To those who might call Israelis “colonists,” Margulies told those people to “get the fuck out” of the United States if they feel that way.
“Here’s what kills me. These kids are calling Jews colonialists. If you’re going with that argument, kids, then get the fuck out of America. Because you were not here first. Native Americans were here first, and you owe them a big fucking apology,” she said.
A backlash immediately erupted on line with detractors calling Margulies racist.
“Wish I could say that Julianna Margulies’ racist rant against Black people is an outlier. But as I’ve said before, I’ve heard this same sentiment from supposedly liberal circles. Solidarity w/ Black people is transactional. We are supposed to be grateful charity recipients,” Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah wrote on X.
Wish I could say that Julianna Margulies' racist rant against Black people is an outlier. But as I've said before, I've heard this same sentiment from supposedly liberal circles.
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) November 30, 2023
Solidarity w/ Black people is transactional. We are supposed to be grateful charity recipients.
“I’ve never heard someone want to say a slur more than Julianna Margulies does in that little podcast she did,” tweeted Saturday Night Live comedian Joel Kim Booster.
I’ve never heard someone want to say a slur more than Julianna Margulies does in that little podcast she did.
— Joel Kim Booster (@ihatejoelkim) November 30, 2023
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
