Actress Julianna Margulies has apologized Friday after receiving backlash from the controversial statements she made regarding the Black community and their stance on Israel.
Margulies issued an apology via Deadline, expressing her horror at offending the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities. “I am horrified by the fact that statements I made on a recent podcast offended the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities, communities I truly love and respect,” Margulies told Deadline Friday.
“I want to be 100% clear: Racism, homophobia, sexism, or any prejudice against anyone’s personal beliefs or identity are abhorrent to me, full stop. Throughout my career I have worked tirelessly to combat hate of all kind, end antisemitism, speak out against terrorist groups like Hamas, and forge a united front against discrimination. I did not intend for my words to sow further division, for which I am sincerely apologetic.”
The Jewish actress made the remarks on the Nov. 21 episode of the podcast “The Back Room With Andy Ostroy,” per NBC News. Margulies, known for her roles in “The Good Wife” and “The Morning Show,” said that the Black community should be more supportive of Israel.
Julianna Margulies Apologizes For Comments Tying Black & LGBTQ Communities To Antisemitism: “I Did Not Intend For My Words To Sow Further Division” https://t.co/IDzpUh4XgA
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) December 1, 2023
During the conversation, which touched on the conflict in the Gaza Strip and the Holocaust, Margulies emphasized the historical connection between the Jewish and Black communities. She referenced the Civil Rights Movement and noted that Jewish allies were actively involved and even died for the cause.(RELATED: Christian High School Apologizes For ‘Racist’ Black History Month Lunch Of Fried Chicken And Collard Greens)
“It should be mandatory watching, especially for the Black community, if I may, because Hitler got his entire playbook from the Jim Crow South,” she added, per NBC News.
“Because the fact that the entire Black community isn’t standing with us, to me, says either they just don’t know, or they’ve been brainwashed to hate Jews. But when you’ve been marginalized so much as a community, the way I feel we have, isn’t that when you step up?”
“And as someone who plays a lesbian journalist on ‘The Morning Show,’ I am more offended by it as a lesbian than I am as a Jew, to be honest with you,” she said, per NBC News. “Because I wanna say to them, ‘You f—ing idiots. You don’t exist. Like, you’re even lower than the Jews. A, you’re Black, and B, you’re gay, and you’re turning your back against the people who support you?’ Because Jews, they rally around everybody.”