Overview

The Jennifer Aniston and Jamie Foxx Antisemitism Controversy refers to backlash against actress Jennifer Aniston after she publically denied liking or supporting a post by actor Jamie Foxx that she mistook as antisemitic in early August 2023. Foxx removed the post and apologized for its poor wording the day it was posted, clarifying that it was not meant to be antisemitic but was written about a fake friend who wronged him. Aniston's post inspired criticism and backlash towards her, with some suggesting she needs to apologize to Foxx for assuming his post was antisemitic.

Background

On August 4th, 2023, actor Jamie Foxx posted an image to his Instagram page featuring the text, "They killed this dude name Jesus…what do you think they'll do to you???! #fakefriends #fakelove," garnering an unknown number of likes before it was deleted. Jennifer Aniston purportedly liked the post prior to removal (shown below, left).

That day, Twitter^[1] user @LegendaryEnergy shared a screenshot of Foxx sharing the post on his Story, writing, "Whoah. Jamie Foxx posted this to his Instagram story," garnering over 40,000 likes in three days. Some in the comments assumed the post was antisemitic and referred to Jewish deicide, which claims the Jewish people were responsible for killing Jesus.

That day, the Instagram^[2] page A Wider Frame, a page that shares "Jewish world news," made a post claiming that Foxx's post is antisemitic, garnering over 4,200 likes in three days (shown below, right). In their image, Jennifer Aniston's username is visible under the "liked by" section.

On August 5th, actress Jennifer Aniston then responded to claims that she liked the post by reposting A Wider Frame's report, denying she ever did so and denouncing antisemitism.

In the post, she writes, "This really makes me sick. I did not 'like' this post on purpose or by accident. And more importantly, I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feeds – I do NOT support any form of antisemitism. And I truly don't tolerate HATE of any kind. Period," (shown below). BuzzFeed^[3] reported on the post that day.

That day, Jamie Foxx also issued an apology on Instagram^[4] about the post, claiming it was not meant to be antisemitic and was simply about a friend who betrayed him, which is what the "they" referenced (shown below). The post gained over 155,700 likes in two days.

Developments / Online Reactions

Jennifer Aniston's assumption that the post was antisemitic inspired criticism towards the actress in the days following her post. Some criticized Aniston and others for misinterpreting the phrase "you saw what they did to Jesus," claiming it's a phrase used in the Black community towards betrayals by friends, referencing how Judas betrayed Jesus.

For example, on August 5th, 2023, Twitter^[5] user @carolinerenard_ made a post about this, garnering over 17,000 likes in two days (shown below, left). On the same day, Twitter^[6] user @Phil_Lewis_ posted, "Jennifer Aniston owes Jamie Foxx an apology because this is just silly," garnering over 94,000 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Later that day, Twitter^[7] user @ANTHONYBLOGAN posted a photo of Foxx with Aniston, writing, "This is the fake friend that Jamie Foxx was talking about," garnering over 61,900 likes in two days. On August 6th, Twitter^[8] user @Theskatingbaker posted a photo of themselves holding a chair, writing, "Jennifer Aniston you next heaux," referencing the man who hit someone with a chair in the Montgomery Riverboat brawl video, garnering over 92,800 views in a day (shown below).

Search Interest

External References