Jamie Lee Curtis controversy, explained
Look, I like Jamie Lee Curtis as an artist, but I’ve soured greatly on her as a person due to her politics. Her latest controversy involving a tone-deaf comment about the Los Angeles fires and Gaza cemented that for me even further.
Let me explain what I mean. As some of you may remember, Curtis made a pretty appalling pro-Israel post on Instagram on October 9, 2023. In response to the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, Curtis shared a photo of alleged terrified Israeli children, followed by an Israeli flag. The issue is that the children in the photo were Palestinian kids. This post was roundly criticized across social media, eventually prompting Curtis to admit to making a “mistake” a month later.
More recently, past controversial comments from Curtis comparing the destruction of Pacific Palisades neighborhoods during the LA wildfires to the war on Gaza resurfaced. As reported by The Independent, Curtis compared the destruction of Pacific Palisades neighborhoods during the LA fires to the war on Gaza:
“I mean literally my neighborhood—gone. My house tonight is still there but I live in a different canyon. But the entire Pacific Palisades looks like, unfortunately, Gaza, or one of these war-torn countries where awful things have happened,”
The Los Angeles fires started on January 7, 2025, and ended on February 3, 2025, taking nearly a month to be extinguished. This devastated over 23,400 acres, burned down numerous homes and neighborhoods, and displaced tens of thousands of people. It was a huge tragedy for the city, but not one to be compared to the ongoing violence being experienced by Palestinian people every day.
Jamie Lee Curtis is beyond privileged
Curtis is a rich white woman who lives comfortably in the imperial core. She doesn’t have to experience what Palestinian people do daily. On top of that, she reportedly did not lose her home in the fire, making this an even weirder comparison.
Curtis is back in the news because she’s starring in the upcoming Freaky Friday sequel, Freakier Friday, which releases on August 8, 2025. But people don’t forget past remarks and actions. X user @RinaLotic wrote of Curtis: “Reminder Jamie Lee Curtis deleted a photo of Palestinian kids fearing for their lives when she was told they weren’t Israeli, and the only time she’s mentioned Gaza since was to compare the LA wildfires to Gaza.”
Another user named @blazyjai wrote: “Remember when Jamie Lee Curtis posted pictures of children suffering in Gaza in support of Israel, because she thought the kids were from Israel.”
And yeah, I can’t disagree at all. By now, I’m super over Curtis as a human being, even if I still enjoy her performances in Knives Out and Everything Everywhere All At Once. She should stop supporting Israel, and she should probably stop saying bad things in general. This is so tiring.
It’s not too late for Curtis to change her viewpoint on Palestine, but it’s hard to imagine her coming around at this point.
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