On August 5, Jaime Foxx threw shade on his Instagram stories to an unknown person. The story read, “THEY KILLED THIS DUDE NAME JESUS… WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY’LL DO TO YOU???! #fakefriends #fakelove.” While I and many others saw that as him calling out a specific “fake friend” in his personal life by invoking a reference to Judas, with the “they” in his post seemingly referring to the “#fakefriends,” some read it as antisemitic.
A handful of people online accused the singer-actor of invoking the antisemitic belief that Jewish people collectively decided to kill Jesus Christ (a.k.a. “Jewish deicide”). While existing as a trope for centuries, the belief persists today, and not just in rancid online forums. Two years before Mel Gibson’s first (publicized) antisemitic rant, he implied this in his film The Passion of the Christ, a film that stars QAnon conspiracy theorist Jim Caviezel.
Another aspect linking Foxx to antisemitism is the use of “they.” For centuries, people have used coded language to refer to Jewish people and their supposed global domination. Other popular code terms include communists, socialists, cultural Marxists, the elite, bankers, etc. (some of which are straight-up contradictory but conspiracy theories don’t have to make sense). The use of these words isn’t inherently antisemitic. Still, they are used to hide Jewish hate in plain sight.
If this were Ye or Alice Walker or even someone with more subtle approaches to Jewish hate, it would be harder to deny these words as coded antisemitism—even if he’s unaware of the root of the phrasing. However, as of writing this, Foxx has failed to exhibit anything remotely resembling antisemitism. Because he hasn’t expressed antisemitism in the past (let alone something as scant as this recent accusation), to call him antisemitic is an out-of-character association when there’s a more obvious reading of his post.
That doesn’t mean he couldn’t say something antisemitic or have done so in the past. After all, like anti-Blackness, antisemitism is embedded deeply in our society. As someone who isn’t Jewish, maybe I’m missing something. I recognize Foxx as just speaking on betrayal without invoking someone’s name. (Especially considering that doing so would be really inappropriate considering the power dynamics with his wealth and celebrity.) Regardless, Foxx did the right thing by apologizing.
Jamie Foxx apologizes
In a quick Instagram story, and later in a post, Foxx wrote:
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 ❤️❤️❤️. Nothing but love always, Jamie Foxx.
The apology wasn’t necessary, but it’s important that Foxx did it anyway. Living in a multicultural society means that you’re going to accidentally say something not realizing it is—or could be interpreted as—offensive, no matter how you meant it. Additionally, if Foxx ignored the criticism, he could unintentionally welcome antisemitism among fans who might want to believe that the antisemitic interpretation is what he meant because they share that hate.
The only real downside to apologizing is that the growing number of people spreading conspiracy theories about his recent health battles (learning nothing from Chadwick Boseman) and supposed role as a clone will feel vindicated in their belief in thinking that Jewish people made him apologize. (You can’t fix everything.)
Still, while some people may have truly missed the context (like hashtags) and saw Foxx’s words as antisemitic, it also fits into a larger pattern of vilifying Black people in particular. (Even a person who’s mostly been in the news addressing their recovery from health issues.)
Algorithms may segregate people into different online silos. However, when there’s a spotlight on you as a celebrity, there’s a certain responsibility that comes with that. It’s extremely unfair that the light is harsher and unkind to marginalized people. Like anti-Asian sentiment, antisemitism is portrayed as an uncommon offense, except when it’s perpetrated by Black people, despite that it’s just not true. Antisemitism, like other forms of discrimination, is common across the world, and Black people are not more discriminatory. This lie acts to undercut the decades of trepidatious Black and Jewish solidarity in the U.S. (And other similar racial/ethnic community solidarities against white supremacy.)
We’ve been here before
Beyond the Jennifer Aniston of it all (who threw Foxx under the bus), this has happened before. While I can’t recall a moment regarding antisemitism, African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is routinely taken out of context in bad faith, often by the same people who will soon use it to death themselves. In 2018, the police arrested a Black man in New Orleans after employees of a business said he made a bomb threat. The man, Arthur Posey, said the “bomb threat” was a comment he actually made in reference to explosive bowel movements. Lots of the information is eye-witness testimony (not the most reliable), but I’ve heard many people use that kind of phrasing before (including non-Black people, but then again, I live in the South).
In a video about the misappropriation and vilification of AAVE, historian and educator Elexus Jionde spoke about a similar instance happening to her in 2012. After a heated exchange with her white freshman college roommate, she tweeted, “LMAO dead.” Someone printed and handed the tweet to school officials as proof of a supposed threat from Jionde. She recounted the school excessively punishing her, including removal from her dorm, probation, endless meetings, and semesterly drug tests. Since then, non-Black people have appropriated this phrase, its usage dubbed “internet speak.” There’s even an emoji associated with it.
These are just three examples of people whose words have been misused against them who, with the exception of records and a jail booking, remained relatively unscathed. People may love AAVE and other forms of Black cultural expression (music, etc.), but until and through its adoption by the dominant culture, it poses a threat to us. When people call discussions of cultural appropriation “useless,” they’re ignoring how the marginalized groups aren’t gatekeeping for fun. The fact that we can’t live in our culture without policing, punishment, or worse is real and material.
(featured image: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Update August 17, 2023: Wording has been adjusted for sensitivity around those who took issue with Foxx.
