David Schwimmer wants Hollywood to 'stand up and speak out' against antisemitism
'Friends' actor David Schwimmer has insisted people "don't have to say anything political" to push back against hate speech and discrimination.
David Schwimmer has insisted "standing up" against antisemitism isn't "political".
The 'Friends' actor - whose family is Jewish - has called on his fellow Hollywood stars to show solidarity against hate speech and discrimination, and insisted that doesn't mean having to address "conflict in the Middle East".
Speaking at the Anti-Defamation League's annual Never Is Now summit against antisemitism, he said: "I wish you would stand up.
"I wish you would speak out, because your voice would be so meaningful to your fans who love you, to your community members who need you, to folks who could use just a little solidarity right now from people they respect and look up to...
"You don’t have to say anything political. Nobody’s asking you to solve the conflict in the Middle East.
"Just say that you stand with your Jewish friends, colleagues and neighbors against hatred and discrimination.”
Last month, David called for Elon Musk to ban Kanye West from X after a string of antisemitic posts on the social media platform, which included expressing his love for Adolf Hitler.
He wrote on Instagram: "This is so 2022. We can’t stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate filled, ignorant bile… but we CAN stop giving him a megaphone, Mr. Musk.
"Kanye West has 32.7 million followers on your platform, X. That’s twice as many people than the number of Jews in existence.
"His sick hate speech results in REAL LIFE violence against Jews. (sic)"
He went on to express his disgust that there hadn't been "sufficient outrage" over Kanye's comments and warned staying silent made people "complicit" in the rapper's actions.
He added: "I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that he identifies as a Nazi (which implies he wants to exterminate ALL marginalized communities including his own) or the fact that there is not sufficient OUTRAGE to remove and ban him from all social media at this point.
"Silence is complicity. (sic)"
During his tirade, Kanye had declared his previous antisemitic comments to be "90 percent Jew proof" and he went on to explain he meant no one had been able to "stop" him.
He quit took his own account offline and later returned to X, having branded himself a Nazi.
He subsequently wrote: "After further reflection I’ve come to the realization that I’m not a Nazi."
