Blair describes the fallout from her 2024 comment
Actress Selma Blair said an anti-Islam Instagram comment she posted in February 2024 during the Israel-Hamas war cost her representation, brand deals and friendships. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Blair replied to a post by immigration reform advocate Abraham Hamra with a comment that began by calling for the deportation of what she described as terrorist-supporting goons. The comment went on to say that Islam had destroyed Muslim countries and that those arriving in the United States had destroyed minds, adding that they were liars using twisted justifications and wishing them their fate.[S1]
After the remark sparked criticism, Blair issued an apology, yet she recounted losing friendships, sponsorship agreements and money tied to a Super Bowl commercial. During her remarks Thursday at the Anti-Defamation League's State of the Arts gathering, held at The Jewish Museum in New York, she recalled that the companies she had worked with vanished in a single day. She also noted that multiple partnerships built over years were put on hold, and that her agency, attorney, publicist, literary agent and social media manager all departed. According to her, nobody called her back.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5]
Blair says the episode left a mark on her family
Blair stated that she offered an apology immediately after the February 2024 social media post and would not allow it to become her identity. She described having reconstructed her professional life following her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, and made clear she did not attend the event seeking pity. Regarding the apology, she insisted she was sincere both at the time and now, and that she keeps the post visible because it was never the real point. She mentioned having a compact team she would do anything for, and said the experience left its scars.[S1]
The Jewish actress described the traumatic effect the incident had on her and her family, saying it also affected her son. She said fear got into her and that fear is contagious in a house. She described a boy in a Christmas photograph who watched his mother become scared of the world, after having already watched her go through chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant without knowing if she would return to him. She said he is a teenager now and should be embarrassed by her, not frightened for her, adding that careers come back but years of his childhood do not.[S1]
Blair points to a recent entertainment controversy
Blair next alluded to, though did not name, the current dispute over rapper Macklemore being dropped from Ed Sheeran's US tour once venues raised objections to Macklemore staying on the bill after his anti-Israel statements. Blair described a movie star who leveraged his platform to promote a petition targeting an artist who had devoted over ten years to fundraising for children. She characterized the woman's offense as speaking up when a fellow performer denounced Israel from the stage, adding that she never wished for anyone to lose a job or a stage. Blair said the woman voiced her honest opinion, and for that a movie star devoted his week to trying to cancel her.[S1]
Blair went on to say this is what happens when humanity is abandoned: a woman who fundraises for children ceases to be seen as a person and becomes a target, and those applauding can no longer perceive her, only a faction. Blair has been added to the cast of the forthcoming movie Schmoolie the Deathwatcher, and on Thursday she revealed she is producing a documentary on antisemitism called Hineni, which she rendered as Here I am. She told those gathered that antisemitism must be halted, not handled, justified or balanced against anything else. She recalled that two years earlier the calls ceased, and that tonight she was the one speaking before a room of her own community, declaring aloud that she is a Jew and remains present.[S1]
Commentator says 'Woke 1' is still alive
NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck told Fox News Digital that the apparent cancellation of Blair over her remarks showed that the elitist media and their friends in Hollywood had made clear that what he called Woke 1 was never actually dead. He said it is very much alive and ready to ruin anyone's career at a moment's notice, especially if they are deemed to have the wrong views about Israel and Islamists.[S1]
