Celebrities support Amy Schumer amid Israel-Hamas backlash

A number of celebrities have shown their support for Amy Schumer as she continues to face backlash for her stance on the military conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Comedian Schumer, 42, has shown her ongoing support for Israel as it continues unrelenting air raids and military ground operations in the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7.

The number of Palestinians killed in the war has passed 10,300, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Israel says more than 242 hostages were kidnapped by Hamas activists last month, according to the AP.

Schumer has called out the rise of antisemitism since October 7, but also been accused of Islamophobia and has been criticized for sending angry messages to other celebrities who have not agreed with her, including Asia Jackson and Mia Khalifa.

She was also one of many celebrities who signed an open letter to President Joe Biden to call for the hostages in Gaza to be released.

While she has faced the risk of being canceled and ongoing criticism for her views, many other celebrities have shown their support for Schumer.

In a since deleted Instagram post, Schumer defended her views and switched the comments back on after Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, Bernice King, slammed the comedian for sharing a video of her father discussing Israel and antisemitism.

“Couple things. What I want is EVERY HOSTAGE BACK I want safety and freedom from Hamas for Palestinians and Israelis. I want safety for Jewish people and Muslims as well. Everyone. Just like you. I want peace,” she wrote.

“You will never see me wishing harm on anyone. Saying I’m Islamophobic or that I like genocide is crazy. So here you go by popular demand. Comments on. Please keep the below in mind,” Schumer wrote.

Bernie King had previously addressed Schumer on X, formerly Twitter, explaining how Martin Luther King Jr. was opposed to antisemitism “but also believed militarism (along with racism and poverty) to be among the interconnected Triple Evils.”

“I am certain he would call for Israel’s bombing of Palestinians to cease, for hostages to be released and for us to work for true peace, which includes justice,” Bernice King wrote.

In Schumer’s deleted Instagram post, a number of celebrities shared their support for her.

Comedian Kathy Griffin wrote: “I love you now and forever. You are a brilliant comic and an inspiration for women in any field.”

Actress Kate Hudson commented, “Love you Amy,” while 90 Day Fiancé starLoren Brovarnik added: “Yesss @amyschumer- we love you and stand by you just like you have for us.”

Melrose Place actress Heather Locklear wrote: “God bless you! You are fantastic.”

But Palestinian advocates slammed Schumer and like-minded celebrities, saying they should be more responsible.

“Those with a platform have a moral obligation to not only shed light on the current genocide unfolding in Gaza but also contextualize over 75 years of settler colonial violence and the 16 years of total blockade that has been violently imposed on Gaza by land, air and sea,” Jeanine of the Palestinian Youth Movement told Newsweek. “What this means is that nothing can enter Gaza without Israel’s permission, whether it’s food, medical supplies, sanitary products or school books.”

“The Palestinian people have, for over 75 years, been murdered and maimed, imprisoned without trial, our homes have been demolished and our families uprooted,” Jeanine, who asked for her surname not to be published, said. “We can’t get to school or university, or to health clinics or hospitals, or to visit relatives without crossing military checkpoints.”

“Currently, over 10,000 Palestinians have been murdered by the Israeli regime,” she added. “We’ve witnessed massacres in schools, hospitals, churches and refugee camps. All the while, the media narrative has tried to erase and silence us. Those with a platform have a responsibility to use it in this moment to call for an immediate ceasefire and lifting of the siege on Gaza.”

However, Israel has warned civilians of impending attacks, issued instructions to evacuate northern Gaza ahead of land-based military operations and blamed any civilian casualties in Gaza since October 7 on Hamas, accusing the group of running its operations in residential areas.

On Monday the Israeli military released videos that it said showed its ground troops uncovering Hamas rocket launchers in a youth center and near a mosque in northern Gaza, the Associated Press reported. It did not provide the precise locations where the videos were filmed, and the images did not include any visible landmarks, so the AP could not independently confirm the footage.