Jamie Foxx received significant backlash after posting a lament about a "fake friend" that was seen as including an anti-Semitic trope. Foxx's post, which included a line about how "they killed this dude named Jesus" was seen as, unintentionally or not, invoking the idea of Jewish Decide. Jewish Decide is the anti-Semitic notion that Jews are collectively responsible for the death of Jesus. It has been used as justification for violence and persecution against Jews since the early days of Christianity. However, the issue lies in the fact that the phrase that Foxx used is a commonly-used colloquialism within the Black community. The reality of the situation is that the phrase is complicated. Just because it is a Black colloquialism doesn't mean that it loses its pre-existing anti-Semitic meaning.
Foxx has since apologized for causing any offense. However, this move has been criticized by many because they feel that Foxx had "nothing to apologize for." Some people have taken this to the extent of making openly anti-Semitic comments in order to excuse Foxx's behavior. However, one particular target of people's ire has been Jennifer Aniston. Aniston disavowed Foxx's statement after initially liking it. “This 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. I truly don’t tolerate HATE of any kind. Period."
Read More: Akademiks slams Chloe Bailey for Gunna cover
Aniston Accused Of Leading Backlash Against Foxx
A majority of the backlash against Aniston, who co-starred with Foxx in Horrible Bosses and Horrible Bosses 2, has been based on the perception that she caused the wave of antisemitism against Foxx. This at the very least appears untrue. Aniston's post appears to have come as a result of being made aware of the allegations of antisemitism within the post. Meanwhile, the first source that appears to have raised concerns about antisemitism is the Times of Israel. Regardless, many people have laid the blame at Aniston's feet.
For many, Aniston was exhibiting "white woman" or "Karen" energy about calling out Foxx for using a Black colloquialism. Additionally, many social media users have called Aniston "ignorant" and demanded that she issue an apology to Foxx. The response feels very similar to the incident in June 2022, when Lizzo issued an apology for the song "GRRRLS". The original lyrics of the song contained a word that served as both a Black colloquialism and an ableist slur. While Lizzo apologized, many argued that she shouldn't have to because her detractors were simply racist white people trying to tone police Black people.
[via]