Chelsea Handler originally refused to take down the “powerful” Farrakhan video.
By Aaron Sull, World Israel News
Jewish comedian Chelsea Handler has apologized for previously posting on Instagram a speech denouncing white supremacy given by anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
“I want to sincerely apologize for posting the video of Louis Farrakhan,” Handler wrote in an email statement to the Daily Beast. “I didn’t consider the context of his anti-Semitic and homophobic rhetoric, that is, of course, contrary to my own beliefs and values.”
“Part of the process of educating ourselves during this pivotal time is recognizing and working through our mistakes. This was definitely one of mine. I was wrong. It was offensive, and I apologize,” she wrote.
Handler’s written apology came after defending the video liked by other celebrities including Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Aniston, and Michelle Pfeiffer.
“I thought his message was really powerful,” Handler said during an appearance on the Daily Beast’s The Last Laugh podcast. “I wasn’t thinking about the anti-Semitic thing, but I don’t want to take down the post because I felt the message was powerful and a lot of people did.”
“White people have a history of killing black people, for hundreds of years. Forget about crime. Over and over again we kill black people in this country. So, everyone needs to like remember where the violence came from,” she said.
Handler also said that anyone who has a problem with it can go “f*** themselves.”
Farrakhan has an extensive history of making anti-Jewish remarks, some of them have included “I’m anti-termite,” referring to Jews as pests, and comments that Adolf Hitler was “a very great man.”