‘Friends’ star Jennifer Aniston has also expressed regret for ‘liking’ the offending message
The American Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx has issued an apology for a since-deleted Instagram post which some people had construed as being a vocal attack on members of the Jewish community.
Foxx, who won numerous accolades for his portrayal of the iconic musician Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic ‘Ray,’ wrote on Saturday, “I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I’m sorry. That was never my intent.”
Foxx’s apology follows a prior social media post issued by the actor which had stated: “They killed this dude named Jesus. What do you think they’ll do to you???! #fakefriends#fakelove.”
A Wider Frame, a website that compiles news relevant to Jewish people, highlighted Foxx’s initial social media post, describing it as “horrifically anti-semitic.” It added that the post propagates a myth that the Jewish community as a whole was collectively responsible for the death of Jesus.
The 55-year-old actor added in the apology released to his 17 million Instagram followers: “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,” he concluded.
Jennifer Aniston, the actor best-known for her work on the US sitcom ‘Friends,’ also apologized after it was noted on social media that she had ‘liked’ Foxx’s initial post on Instagram – something she said she did not do “on purpose or by accident.”
“This really makes me sick,” the American, also 55, wrote on social media. “I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up on their feeds – I do NOT support any kind of anti-semitism. And I truly don’t tolerate HATE of any kind.”
Foxx’s apology post has been ‘liked’ more than 130,000 times as of Sunday evening and has received more than 21,000 replies.
In addition to his award-winning role in ‘Ray,’ Foxx is also known for his performances in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Django Unchained’ and Michael Mann’s ‘Collateral.’ He has also received ten Grammy Award nominations –winning one– in a music career that has seen him release five albums since 1994.
