Renowned actor Jamie Foxx became the target of what can best be described as a social media cancel-culture mob over the weekend after an Instagram post the actor shared mentioned how “fake friends” was what led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. For reasons beyond sensible comprehension, individuals amid the Jewish community accused Foxx of promoting an antisemitic trope, despite the post making no direct or indirect reference to the Jewish community.
Earlier in August, the 55-year-old actor took to Instagram to engage in what the social media savvy generation would call “vague-posting,” which typically involves the sharing of a quote or aphorism that readers of said post would know is about someone or something, but the original poster doesn’t get into specifics as to who or what they’re specifically referring to.
Perhaps one of the most common iterations of vague-posting are social media posts pertaining to the concept of “fake friends,” which Foxx seemingly did just that earlier in August when posting to his Instagram stories about the betrayal of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible and accompanying it with the hashtags “#FakeFriends” and “#FakeLove.”
Even those who are neither religious nor intimately familiar with the New Testament likely have a general understanding of the infamous betrayal of Jesus Christ and have probably even used some of the common phrases and expressions stemming from that very story (i.e., calling someone a “Judas” for a perceived betrayal, or joking about someone getting their “30 pieces of silver”).
Yet, in the relatively innocuous post shared by Foxx, a cancel mob formed online after somehow reaching the conclusion that Foxx’s post was some kind of attack aimed at the Jewish community. The aforesaid conclusion was collectively drawn because some Jews believed Foxx’s use of the word “they” in the post was some kind of a dog whistle meaning “Jews.”
Once again a celebrity @iamjamiefoxx fanning the flames of Jew hatred on social media. This blood libel has motivated violent acts of persecution against Jewish people for centuries. As a fellow minority Jamie should know better how dangerous this is. I urge him to educate… pic.twitter.com/WHaOlIkFro
— Brooke Goldstein (@GoldsteinBrooke) August 5, 2023
Bear in mind, nothing contained within Foxx’s original post hinted at remotely anything related to the Jewish community, and the hashtags accompanying the post should’ve easily conveyed that Foxx was referring to some kind of perceived betrayal from a once-thought friend.
But an exorbitant amount of members within the Jewish community were adamant that any utterance of the word “they” in conjunction with any reference to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, regardless of additional context as observed in Foxx’s post, ultimately equates to spreading antisemitism.
Yet, the plain language and nuance contained within Foxx’s original post wasn’t lost on more sensible social media users, with members from the Black community expressing particular annoyance at the overreaction and what they perceived as people trying to police common verbiage used within their community.
“They killed Jesus” is by no means a harmful statement to anyone, grow up.
The majority of his followers knew exactly what he meant, it’s not up to Jamie Foxx for how others interpret his words.
Go on with that victim mentality bullshit.
— Ray (@INTPhoenixRay) August 6, 2023
The nerve of you saying this while simultaneously telling Black men & women how to address each other in their own culture. Y'ALL could have stayed in YOUR lane since nobody was thinking about you when they said it, but here we are, Howard. HERE WE ARE. https://t.co/igPGwMk6RU
— Bernadette R. Giacomazzo #binders #journalism (@BGWritesStuff) August 5, 2023
Exactly. This was such a simple statement that required minimal common sense. Can’t believe it was misinterpreted so wildly
— Bre (@thatgirladore) August 6, 2023
Despite the fact that there was a sizeable amount of people who understood the very plain meaning behind Foxx’s original post, the actor still delivered an apology to appease those who claimed offense over his post.
Gregory Hoyt is a former contributor to outlets such as Law Enforcement Today and Red Voice Media, and current host of The Breakdown with Greg Hoyt. Based out of Sierra Vista, Arizona, Hoyt is a staunch and outspoken advocate of law enforcement and first responders, while also harboring the unique experience of having spent nearly 5 years in prison. Since then, he's used his unique perspective to offer support and commentary about the criminal justice system. When not working or combating bad ideas, Hoyt also leisurely studies economics, history, and law.