Jameela Jamil, Chelsea Handler and Jessica Chastain condemned for sharing Louis Farrakhan video
Nation of Islam leader has been accused of antisemitism, homophobia and sexism throughout his life
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Stars including Jameela Jamil, Jessica Chastain and Chelsea Handler have come under fire for sharing a video of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan on their social media.
The clip sees Farrakhan explaining that white people are fearful of black power as they believe the violence historically enacted against black people could be enacted against them, too. The clip is sourced from the minister’s appearance in a 1990 episode of Phil Donahue’s US talk show.
Jamil appeared to share the clip first, captioning it: “Someone please tell me the name of this extraordinary man who so perfectly sums up white fear in under a minute.”
Chastain re-shared the clip in her Instagram story soon after, while Handler posted the clip on her main Instagram, captioning it: “I learned a lot from watching this powerful video.”
Handler’s video was commented on by a number of stars, including Will & Grace actor Sean Hayes, who wrote: “This should be played on a loop. Everywhere. Always.”
Unfortunately, many were quick to point out that Farrakhan has been accused throughout his life of antisemitism, homophobia, and sexism. He has denied calling Judaism a “gutter religion”, but did call Adolf Hitler “a great man” in a 1984 speech. In 2015 he alleged that “Israelis and Zionist Jews” were involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and tweeted in 2018 that the Harvey Weinstein scandal was about “Jewish power”.
Farrakhan has also been forced to deny any involvement in the assassination of black revolutionary and civil rights activist Malcolm X, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Shabazz’s widow Betty repeatedly alleged that Farrakhan played a role in her husband’s murder.
Both Jamil and Handler removed their videos of Farrakhan after being criticised, though Handler suggested that Farrakhan’s antisemitism may have stemmed from his own oppression as a black man.
“I still consider this message to be quite powerful,” Handler wrote in a comment to one of her followers. “Perhaps Farrakhan’s antisemitic views took form during his own oppression. We know now that the oppression of one race leads to an oppression of all races.”