Jamie Lee Curtis has addressed the backlash towards her Instagram post on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. Israel subsequently fired airstrikes on Gaza. As of November 10, at least 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported, while over 10,800 have been killed in Gaza.
In the wake of the initial Hamas attack, Curtis took to Instagram to express her support for victims in Israel. The 64-year-old shared an image of terrified children glancing up at missiles shooting through the sky, captioned: "Terror from the skies."
The graphic also featured an Israeli flag. However, the children in the image are actually from Gaza.
Curtis's Instagram followers alerted her to the mistake, with the Halloween star quickly taking the graphic down. Nevertheless, the faux pas led to accusations of "performative activism," with one user writing: "Just because you have the platform and can [post], doesn't mean you should."
On November 9, Curtis acknowledged the negative response to the post. While receiving The Advocate magazine's advocate of the year award at the 2023 Out100 gala, the Oscar winner apologized for the error, telling the audience: "I am also human and therefore flawed and contradictory.
"I make mistakes, and I try to own them in this time of great conflict around the world, where we are all trying to find our individual center of care and compassion and outreach so we can use our voices amidst the cacophony of hate that is surrounding us."
She continued: "My entire adult life has been focused on the care of critically ill and injured children wherever they are, whoever they are, whatever country they're from, whatever their circumstances and religious affiliations.
"I will continue to do that amidst all of the anger and division and cleaving of our shared coexistence...Tonight, I hope you join me as I pray for the safe release of hostages all over the world, especially the children and I pray for the cessation of violence perpetrated against all people, all over the world, especially the children."
Newsweek has reached out to Jamie Lee Curtis for comment via email.
The accolade was bestowed on Curtis by The Advocate for her work supporting LGBTQ rights. The actress has advocated for the LGBTQ community throughout her career, but particularly transgender people, with her daughter Ruby, 26, coming out as trans in 2021.
Curtis isn't the only famous face to spark uproar with their thoughts on the Israel-Hamas war.
There were calls for Lebanese former adult film star Mia Khalifa to be canceled after the 30-year-old called Hamas "freedom fighters" on social media, while Jewish comedian Amy Schumer has received continuous criticism for her support of Israel—leading to fallouts with public figures such as Black and Indigenous Filipino actress Asia Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter Bernice King.
Even celebrities attempting to stay neutral have sparked outrage. Actress and singer Selena Gomez was recently slammed on social media after posting a statement explaining why she refused to comment on the matter, while Marvel star Mark Ruffalo was mocked for sharing a petition to "End child bloodshed" on both sides of the conflict.
Correction, 11/10/23, 5:45 p.m. ET: This article was updated to clarify that Jamie Lee Curtis' award was from The Advocate magazine.
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Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more
