Award-winning actor, comedian, and filmmaker Jordan Peele is sparking backlash. Recently, an old photo of him from decades ago resurfaced, following his extending his support to Israel, before calling for a ceasefire in Palestine as well. Shared by @wydkleo on X, the image is of him from his 20s, from 1999.
In the snap, he is sporting a white T-shirt, which has the message ‘Stop Apartheid’ written in bold on it, over strips of green, yellow, and red colors. This message is written above a black and white masked figure, who is holding guns in both of his hands.
JORDAN PEELE, 1999 pic.twitter.com/PkMqjzGVtd
But as important as that message might have been at the time, of course, it isn’t exactly sitting well with fans as of late. This is because, at the beginning of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Jordan Peele was among the celebrities in Hollywood who expressed solidarity with Israel, which is currently busy waging a war and genocide on Gaza.
Jordan Peele is Facing Backlash Over His Old ‘Stop Apartheid’ Photo
Ever since that old image of Jordan Peele has resurfaced, some fans are piling in to take a dig at him, calling him out on his conflicting beliefs. This is because he initially sided with Israel in his public take on the Israel-Hamas conflict, having signed the #NoHostageLeftBehind propaganda letter that urged the release of the hostages taken by Hamas.
On X, here’s what these fans have to say about his old photo:
He wouldn't be where he is right now without his allegiance to Zionist Hollywood. He thinks that bending the knee will get him more projects/funding in the future. It's just a reverberation of the Pinko scare. History repeats in the same key.
character development gone wrong
Weirdly how their viewpoint changes with ones class. Loyal to the money only.
The shirt aged better than the man
They always fall so far from grace
His shirt… just for him to be an Israel supporter 🙂↔️ https://t.co/NgnzTB6iBO
However, while that’s that, it’s worth noting that Peele also signed the Artists4Ceasefire letter that called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, though it was after his having signed the letter in support of the Israeli hostages. This act from the filmmaker had his other fans jumping to his defense as they argued with their tweets:
He wanted a ceasefire and also he wanted the hostages to be free that doesn’t make him an Israel supporter, just anti-violence
Israel is not mentioned anywhere on his page, and the first result for a relevant Google search is an anti-war project listing him as a supporter for it.
Please explain what you're talking about here?
Someone could hold the door open for a Jewish person and some of yall on this app would say that they are Zionist 💀
Jordan Peele is not an Israel supporter; he co-signed a letter from Artists4Ceasefire calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a stance that opposes military actions and emphasizes the sacredness of all life in the conflict.
Looking at these responses, it seems pretty clear that the Get Out director’s old image opposing apartheid has sparked a debate among fans on whether he is a supporter of Israel or Palestine. That said, it won’t quite come as a surprise if he ends up losing a bunch of fans over this.
So, Does Jordan Peele Support Israel or Palestine?
While Jordan Peele hasn’t directly commented on the issue, he did sign two conflicting letters over the course of the past two years that Israel has been constantly waging war and starving Gazan civilians following the October 7, 2023, attack. If anything, he appears to hold a mixed take on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In October 2023, weeks after the attack on the 7th, the comedian made headlines for being one of the Hollywood celebrities to sign an open letter to Joe Biden, the then-President of the United States. The letter, deemed a ‘propaganda’ one since then, called for the release of all hostages taken by the military arm of the Palestinian political group, Hamas.
In the open letter, which was a part of the #NoHostageLeftBehind campaign, the entertainment professionals commended the then-president for his “unshakable moral conviction, leadership, and support for the Jewish people,” before urging “everyone to not rest until all hostages are released.” This list included Peele as well.
It’s worth noting that this letter was signed in the wake of Hamas’ ground, air, and sea attack into southern Israel on October 7, which reportedly killed more than 1,000 people and had them allegedly taking between 200 to 250 people hostage.
In response, though, Israel took it a bit too far as, by October 25, around 6,456 Palestinians were reported to have been slain, with 17,439 reported wounded by the occupation’s retaliatory airstrikes. In the occupied West Bank, at the time, more than 100 Palestinians were reported to have been killed, along with 1,650 injured, per The Associated Press.
That number has tremendously increased over the past two years as Israel has continued to wage nonstop war on Gaza. The situation is even being acknowledged as a ‘genocide’ from the occupation over the people of Palestine, at this point, considering the millions of Gazans who are currently starving and losing their lives with each passing minute.
According to the latest reports from Al Jazeera and the Gaza Health Ministry (GHM), around 66,414 Palestinians have been reported killed in the war in Gaza, with approximately 167,518 reported wounded since October 2023. This even includes numerous journalists, media workers, academics, and humanitarian aid workers.
Looking at these numbers, it’s only understandable why fans are condemning Peele’s having signed that open letter to Biden that majorly expressed concern for the Israeli hostages while undermining the Palestinian ones. Even though, yes, it did seem to call for “freedom for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace” and “freedom from the brutal violence spread by Hamas”, it appeared to completely overlook the unparalleled damage by Israel on Gaza.
At the same time, it’s worth noting that Peele also signed the Artists4Ceasefire letter. This letter called for an immediate and “permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the identity of lifesaving aid to civilians in Gaza.” It further emphasized that “this is the first step toward survival, healing and rebuilding,” while pointing out that “lasting peace can only be achieved when all people in Palestine and Israel live in freedom, safety, and equity.”
That said, it feels like the message that Jordan Peele has actually been trying to convey all along is that he supports peace, humanity, and a permanent ceasefire, and does not, in particular, stand with either Israel or Palestine.
Nonetheless, as his old image continues to make rounds on the internet, it remains to be seen at what end the debate among fans lands Peele. What do you think?
