Amy Schumer Corrected by MLK's Daughter Over Israel

Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., has issued a response to Amy Schumer's social media post that showed the late civil rights leader discussing Israel and antisemitism.

Stand-up comedian and actor Schumer, 42, has recently faced backlash over her comments regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The star has been showing her support for Israel online following an unprecedented attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants on southern Israel on October 7.

Hamas said the attack was retribution for worsening conditions for Palestinians under Israeli occupation. The group is estimated to have taken more than 200 hostages from 25 countries and has threatened to kill some of them.

Human rights organizations have called for an urgent ceasefire after Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and put the territory under a siege that has caused a shortage of water, food and electricity for the millions living there.

Amid the subsequent military strikes over the past several days, ground units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been expanding operations in Gaza.

As of Wednesday, more than 1,400 people had been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported, citing the Israeli military. An estimated 8,525 people had been killed in Gaza, according to authorities there, the AP said.

Late Monday, Schumer appeared to address the rise in antisemitism since the conflict began. In the aftermath of the October 7 attack, X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, removed hundreds of pro-Hamas accounts.

In the clip shared by Schumer on X, Martin Luther King Jr. is shown saying: "The whole world must see that Israel must exist and has the right to exist, and is one of the great outposts of democracy in the world."

Another part of the video, which was credited to the Jewish Journal and has been viewed more than 7 million times, showed him making a speech. In it, the church leader said: "My Jewish brothers and sisters said to me, 'Amid antisemitism anywhere, we don't need your support. We have enough Jewish power to deal with this problem ourselves.' I would still take a stand against antisemitism because it's wrong, it's unjust and it's evil.

"If my Catholic brothers and sisters said to me, 'Amid bigotry toward Catholics, we don't need your support in this cause we have enough Catholic power to deal with it,' I would still take a stand against bigotry towards Catholics because it is wrong, it is evil and it is unjust."

Civil rights activist Bernice King responded directly to Schumer's post on Tuesday, telling the comedian that her late father viewed "militarism" as evil.

"Amy: Certainly, my father was against antisemitism, as am I," she wrote in her response. "He also believed militarism (along with racism and poverty) to be among the interconnected Triple Evils.

"I am certain he would call for Israel's bombing of Palestinians to cease, for hostages to be released and for us to work for true peace, which includes justice."

Quoting her father in a follow-up post, she went on: "He said, 'Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.' We have much to correct."

Bernice King also shared a video clip of her father discussing the Vietnam war, in which he said that the U.S. "should restrain our power."

"There is always a danger that any nation will abuse its power, and I think our power must be much more than military power," he said. "We don't need to prove to the world or anybody our military power. We've got to prove our moral power now."

In the video, Martin Luther King Jr. confirmed that he "certainly" believed the U.S. had abused its power with regards to the war in Vietnam.

Concluding her thread, Bernice King advised Schumer to read one of the books written by her father, who was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, back in 1968.

She wrote: "I encourage you to read 'Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?'

"I mourn with all who are mourning. I know that we can't afford to diminish & dehumanize each other if we are truly committed to ridding humanity of the Triple Evils & to freedom from oppression for all."

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Schumer via email for comment.

Schumer faced backlash on October 17 after speaking out in an Instagram Story post. The star accused a number of media outlets in the West of "blaming Israel" for the explosion that took place in the parking lot of al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City "without fact checking." She also called for editors at specified outlets to be fired.

"An Islamic Jihad missile killed hundreds of innocent Palestinians in a hospital in Gaza. Many Western outlets published a propaganda LIE, blaming Israel without fact checking. FACTS only reached the headlines an hour later," Schumer wrote in the post.

"Fire the @bbcnews @nyt @skynews @cnn editors who put terrorist lies on their homepages. Lies that stoke anti-Jewish hatred worldwide. Hold media prejudice accountable."

Her post sparked widespread criticism on X, formerly Twitter, as a number of people disputed her statement. Some even went as far as to say they were canceling the comedian.

Evan Nierman, CEO of global PR firm Red Banyan, previously told Newsweek that there is little to no rational explanation for the backlash Schumer's post ignited.

"The fact that she is being attacked is outrageous," he said. "Since when has delivering factual information and encouraging people to be careful to verify before buying into falsehood become an offense? The world has turned upside down.

"To deliver factual information should not result in being [labeled] as an Islamophobe. It's an inaccurate, unfair characterization of her. And she should be applauded for insisting on facts, and cautioning against buying into lies."

Nierman, author of The Cancel Culture Curse, added: "Amy Schumer is not a Middle East scholar or expert. But the people attacking her certainly aren't either. That's worth remembering here. She's been canceled for insisting that people pay attention to the truth. That's the world that we're living in."