Yahoo News Jamie Foxx apologizes for Jesus and 'fake friends' post after he's accused of anti-Semitism: 'Never my intent'
Jamie Foxx is apologizing after sharing a message on his Instagram account Friday that some called anti-Semitic.
"I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post," Fox wrote in a new post on Saturday. "I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I'm sorry. That was never my intent."
He continued, "To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that's what I meant with 'they,' not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended."
The They Cloned Tyrone actor drew ire after he posted a photo of a black square that read, "They killed this dude named Jesus… what do you think they'll do to you?" Alongside the image, which has since been deleted, Foxx added the hashtags #fakefriends and #fakelove.
The cryptic and divisive post sparked swift condemnation online, with some claiming that it was espousing anti-Semitic rhetoric. However, others interpreted the message as Foxx expressing how he'd felt betrayed by friends and followers.
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic Jamie Foxx
Among those who weighed in was Jennifer Aniston, who posted an Instagram Story to denounce anti-Semitism after it was reported that she had "liked" Foxx's initial post.
"This really makes me sick. I did not 'like' this post on purpose or by accident," the Friends actress wrote. "And more importantly, I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feeds — I do NOT support any form of anti-Semitism. And I truly don't tolerate HATE of any kind. Period."
Jennifer Aniston/Instagram Jennifer Aniston's Instagram Story about Jamie Foxx's recent controversial post
Aniston's representatives did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
Last month, Foxx addressed his recent health concerns after he was hospitalized for several weeks for an undisclosed medical complication in April. "First of all, I wanna say thank you to everyone that's prayed and sent me messages," he said. "I cannot even begin to tell you how far it took me and how it brought me back. I went through something that I thought I would never, ever go through."
The actor also explained why he chose to remain silent after his health scare. "I just didn't want you to see me like that," he said. "I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying, cracking a joke, doing a movie, a television show. I just didn't want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was going to make it through."
Still, he acknowledged that his staying quiet led to rumors about his health spreading online. "Some people are saying I was blind, but as you can see the eyes are working just fine. They said I was paralyzed — I'm not paralyzed," he said. "But I did go through… I went to hell and back. My road to recovery had some potholes as well, but I'm coming back, and I'm able to work."
He concluded, "If you see me out from now on and every once and a while I just burst into tears, it's because it's been tough, man. I've been sick, man. But now, I've got my legs under me, so you're gonna see me out."
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