About his lack of familiarity with Avdija, whose World Team fell short in the round-robin contest featuring 28 NBA stars, Lee added, “He can BALL. NOW I DO KNOW.”

By Philissa Cramer, JTA

Director Spike Lee says he was not targeting the first Israeli NBA All-Star when he wore a pro-Palestinian outfit to the All-Star Game on Sunday.

Lee’s outfit featured a keffiyeh-patterned sweater and a bag strap with images of the Palestinian flag. Some of his critics charged that he had chosen the outfit especially because Deni Avdija, the Israeli star of the Portland Trail Blazers, was taking the court.

Lee sought to put that idea to rest in a post on Instagram late Tuesday, saying that, as a superfan of the East Coast New York Knicks, he wasn’t as familiar with West Coast teams like the Trail Blazers and didn’t know that Avdija was Israeli.

“There has been some conjecture about what I wore to the games on Saturday and Sunday. The clothes I wore are symbols of my concern for the Palestinian children and civilians, and my utmost belief in human dignity for all humankind,” Lee wrote.

“What I wore was not intended as a gesture of hostility to Jewish people or to support violence against anyone, nor was it intended as a comment on the significance of Deni being an an All-Star.”

About his lack of familiarity with Avdija, whose World Team fell short in the round-robin contest featuring 28 NBA stars, Lee added, “He can BALL. NOW I DO KNOW.”

The post Spike Lee says his anti-Israel NBA All-Star Game outfit wasn’t meant as a dig against Deni Avdija appeared first on World Israel News.

“My words were WRONG,” Lee tweeted, taking back the support he had voiced for his friend.

By Associated Press 

After voicing support for Woody Allen and criticizing cancel culture, Spike Lee apologized Saturday for words he said were “wrong.”

In an interview Friday on the New York radio station WOR 710, Lee called Allen “a great, great filmmaker.”

“This cancel thing is not just Woody. And I think that when we look back on it, (we’re) gonna see that, short of killing somebody, I don’t if you can just erase somebody like they never existed. Woody’s a friend of mine,” said Lee. “I know he’s going through it right now.”

The following day, Lee tweeted an apology.

“My words were WRONG,” he wrote. “I do not and will not tolerate sexual harassment, assault or violence. Such treatment causes real damage that can’t be minimized.”

Allen has been accused of molesting his daughter Dylan Farrow when she was seven years old in the early 1990s. Allen has long denied the allegation. Earlier this year, he released a memoir through Arcade Publishing after his original publisher, Hachette Book Group, dropped the book amid widespread criticism.

Lee’s latest film, the Vietnam War drama “Da 5 Bloods,” debuted Friday on Netflix.

The post Spike Lee defends Woody Allen, then collapses under pressure and apologizes appeared first on World Israel News.