Jennifer Aniston Condemns Antisemitism Amid Jamie Foxx Backlash: 'Sick'

Actor Jennifer Aniston took to social media on Friday to address recent backlash surrounding her liking actor and singer Jamie Foxx's Instagram post that some called antisemitic.

"This really makes me sick. I did not 'like' this post on purpose or by accident. And more importantly, I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feeds-I do NOT support any form of antisemitism. And I truly don't tolerate HATE of any kind. Period," Aniston wrote in an Instagram story.

Foxx's previously deleted Instagram post said, "THEY KILLED THIS DUDE NAME JESUS... WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY'LL DO TO YOU???! #fakefriends #fakelove."

Foxx also addressed his deleted Instagram post on X, formally known as Twitter, on Saturday and wrote, "I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I know now my choice of words have caused offense and I'm sorry. That was never my intent. 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."

Some social media users interpreted Foxx's post to be perpetuating the antisemitic belief of Jewish deicide, which the American Jewish Committee (AJC) defines as "the charge that Jews bear eternal responsibility for the death of Jesus Christ." The AJC continued in its definition, "This claim is based on Matthew 27:24-25, "His blood be on us, and on our children," also known as the blood curse. This verse (25) has led to more Jewish suffering than any other passage in the Christian Bible."

Newsweek reached out to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for comment and was directed to CEO Jonathan Greenblatt's post on X that said, "Truly appreciate @iamjamiefoxx reaching out and confirming privately what he also said publicly. His message of love for the Jewish community is crucial in this time of rising hate. We are stronger together."

Philip Lewis, senior editor at HuffPost, reacted to Aniston's Instagram story on X and wrote, "Jennifer Aniston owes Jamie Foxx an apology because this is just silly."

X account user O.T.G. replied to Foxx by posting, "We knew what you meant. It's been a saying for years."

X account user Lucas Gage also posted: "Another Black celebrity (Jamie Foxx) having to apologize to the powerless Jewish community for an 'antisemitic' post, lest his entire life be destroyed. But yea, it's 'Whitey' with all the privilege and power, lmao."

Meanwhile, antisemitic beliefs have been on the rise in recent years, according to the ADL. Recently, Democratic 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to shrug off allegations of antisemitism after an article in the New York Post last month cited a video showing Kennedy Jr. making comments about COVID-19 and specific ethnic groups.

"COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese," Kennedy Jr. said, according to the Post's article.

However, Kennedy Jr. previously tweeted that the Post's story was mistaken, adding that he never, ever suggested that COVID-19 was targeted to spare Jews.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk's X has been slammed by a series of high-profile Jewish organizations for not responding proactively to antisemitic content on the social media platform.

"We are deeply concerned about this trend, which was exacerbated by Elon Musk's decision to reinstate the accounts of dangerous right-wing extremists and antisemites who had violated Twitter's terms of service," the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) previously told Newsweek.

Meanwhile, Foxx has also made recent headlines after his hospitalization for an unspecified medical complication. In May, his daughter Corinne confirmed he was out of the hospital and recuperating, with the family being spotted visiting him in a Chicago physical rehabilitation facility that same month. With just that information and an unsubstantiated rumor started by notable gossip columnist A.J. Benza, some people speculated online that Foxx suffered a stroke brought on by a blood clot caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.

Foxx took to his Instagram in July with a video update on his condition saying, "First of all I want to say thank you to everybody that's prayed man and sent me messages. I cannot even begin to tell you how far it took me and how it brought me back. I went through something that I thought I would never ever go through. I know a lot of people were waiting or wanting to hear updates. But to be honest with you, I just didn't want you to see me like that man...I didn't want you to see me with tubes running out of me. And trying to figure out if I was going to make it through."

Continuing, Foxx thanked his family and medical staff for saving his life. In addition, he refuted previous rumors that he was left blind or paralyzed but did say he went "through hell and back."

Update 8/6/2023, 1:11 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.