Selma Blair has apologized after facing backlash for posting an Islamophobic comment on a video about the Israel-Hamas war.
After U.S. representatives Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush voted against a bill that would keep people who were involved in the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel from immigrating to the U.S., with Tlaib saying the law would be “redundant with already existing federal law,” lawyer Abraham Hamra took to Instagram to air his grievances. In an Instagram video, which went viral, he said that “the truth is, the Jews have been victimized by the Arabs, and not the other way around.” He also called Tlaib a “liar,” “moron,” and “hateful antisemite.”
NBC reports that Blair, who is Jewish, appeared to agree with Hamra, writing in a since-deleted comment: “Thank you. Deport all these terrorist supporting goons. Islam has destroyed Muslim countries and then they come here and destroy minds. They know they are liars. Twisted justifications. May they meet their fate.” She wasn’t the only celebrity who spoke up in support of Hamra’s comments. As of Monday, Debra Messing’s comment — “THANK YOU” — is still up, as is actor Michael Rapaport’s, which says, “love it.”
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the Council on American–Islamic Relations’ national deputy director, criticized Blair’s comment and urged her to engage in dialogue with Muslim people. “Based on the hateful and ignorant remarks that Ms. Blair made, we doubt that she has ever engaged in any meaningful interactions with her Muslim colleagues in Hollywood or other members of the American Muslim community,” the statement from the country’s largest Muslim civil-rights organization said.
In a lengthy statement shared to Instagram on Tuesday, Blair wrote that she “mistakenly and inadvertently conflated Muslims with Radical Islamists and fundamentalists, a terrible err in my words, and resulted in hurting countless people I never meant to, and I deeply regret this.” She said she deleted the comment when she realized her “error” and credited her “Muslim friends” with educating her in recent days. The statement continued, “Hate and misinformation are amplified so easily these days. This time by my own hands. In this instance, I erred in my writing and I fully recognize how I contributed to the Muslim community being understandably very upset. I respect and love all peace-loving communities, all over the world.”
Meanwhile, in explaining her decision to vote against the bill, Tlaib — who is the only Palestinian American member of Congress — said, “It’s just another GOP messaging bill being used to incite anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim hatred that makes communities like ours unsafe.”
This post has been updated.