Josh Gad Stands Against Anti-Semitism in Wake of Nick Cannon’s and Other Stars’ Comments

On Tuesday, Nick Cannon was fired from ViacomCBS for spreading and expressing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on his YouTube show Cannon’s Class, comments for which he refused to apologize for. Several other prominent figures, such as Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Stephen Jackson, have shared anti-Semitic remarks as of late. In response to this news and this plethora of comments from famous figures, Josh Gad, who is Jewish, posted a video on Wednesday in which he explained that he stands firm against anti-Semitism.

As he explained in the video, there has been an unfortunate rise in anti-Semitism over the past several years and, more specifically, in the past week, which he called “frightening” and “really disgraceful.” He said, “And I’ve seen it from people in a position who should know better and who have an ability to really send messages to a large swathe of people who I would imagine can benefit from greater messaging than intolerance at a time when there is so much intolerance.” The Frozen star added, “You know, I think we all have to do better. I think it is so disgusting that after all the lessons that have been learned from those who have messaged such hate in the past that we would continue to make these mistakes. Yet, here we are.”

Gad ended his video by saying that he hopes that people can start to educate themselves so that they aren’t spreading any more hatred. He said, “I hope that people can educate themselves. I hope that people can use their platforms in a way that isn’t filled with old and tired cliches. And I hope that people can simply find better things to do than discriminate ’cause it’s kind of bulls— y’all.”

Gad’s video was posted a day after Cannon was fired by ViacomCBS for his anti-Semitic comments. During an episode of Cannon’s Class, the Masked Singer host had a conversation with former Public Enemy figure Richard “Professor Griff” Griffin in which they discussed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. At one point, Cannon said that Black people are the “true Hebrews” and compared those who don’t have melanin in their skin to “savages.” As a result of his comments, ViacomCBS decided to terminate their decades-long relationship with him after he failed to “acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism.” While Cannon did release a statement about the matter on Facebook, he did not explicitly apologize for his inflammatory comments. He wrote, in part, “Anyone who knows me knows that I have no hate in my heart nor malice intentions. I do not condone hate speech nor the spread of hateful rhetoric. We are living in a time when it is more important than ever to promote unity and understanding.”

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