Selma Blair claims Hollywood abandoned her after she made an anti-Islam remark

Selma Blair says “no one returned my calls” after an anti-Islam Instagram comment she posted in February 2024 cost her representation, brand deals and friendships. Her remarks come more than two years later, at the Anti-Defamation League’s State of the Arts reception at The Jewish Museum in New York on Thursday.

The Comment That Drew Backlash

The deleted comment saw Blair target Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., for opposing a bill that would keep individuals tied to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel out of the United States. Blair’s response to a post from immigration reform advocate Abraham Hamra included the line “Deport all these terrorist supporting goons.”.

What Blair Lost Immediately

“The brands I worked with were gone within a day,” Blair said at the reception. She listed the losses:

1. Her agency was gone.
2. Her lawyer was gone.
3. Her publicist was gone.
4. Her book agent was gone.
5. Her book publicist was gone.
6. Her social media manager was gone.

“A few partnerships I’d spent years building were shelved,” she continued. “No one returned my calls.”

Blair’s Apology and Her Refusal to Define Herself

After making the comment, Blair offered an apology “right away”, choosing not to let it shape how people see her. She also noted that she has since rebuilt her career following her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, and is now focused on “not up here for sympathy.”.

“I meant it then, and I mean it now, and I’m leaving the comment there, because the comment was not the story,” she said. “I have a team now I’d walk through fire with. It’s small, and it is my team. I want you to know that before I tell you the part that isn’t better. It left a mark.”

How the Ordeal Affected Her Son

She explained how the traumatic experience marked both herself and her family, pointing out that the effect reached beyond her alone to include her son as well.

“The fear got into me, and fear is contagious in a house,” she said. “The boy in that Christmas photograph watched his mother get scared of the world. A boy who had already watched his mother go through chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, not knowing if she was coming back to him. He’s a teenager now. He’s supposed to be embarrassed by me, not frightened for me. Careers come back. Years of his childhood do not.”

Blair’s Criticism of Recent Controversies

Blair cited the recent uproar over rapper Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’, whose U.S. tour drew venue pushback after he refused to step down from the lineup despite his anti-Israel comments. She further noted actor Javier Bardem’s petition demanding singer Pink be stripped of her UNICEF ambassador role.

“A couple of weeks ago, of course, a movie star used his platform to push a petition against an artist who has spent more than a decade raising money for children,” Blair said. “Her crime was objecting, out loud, when another performer railed against Israel from a stage. She didn’t ask for anyone to lose anything. Not a job, not a stage, nothing. She said what she thought.”

“And for saying what she thought, a movie star spent his week trying to get her canceled,” she continued. “This is what it looks like when we lose our humanity. A woman who raises money for children stops being a person and becomes a target, and the people cheering can’t see her anymore. They only see a side.”

Blair’s New Projects

Thursday saw Blair announce that she is making a documentary about antisemitism, titled “Hineni,” which she translated as “Here I am.”. The actress has also joined the cast of the upcoming film “Schmoolie the Deathwatcher,”.

“Antisemitism has to stop,” Blair told the audience. “Not be managed. Not be explained. Not be weighed against something else. Stop. Two years ago the phone stopped. Tonight I’m the one talking, in a room full of my own people, saying the thing out loud. I’m a Jew. I’m still here. Hineni.”

The Comparison Between Blair and Pink

The situation with Blair’s speech drew a direct parallel between her own experience and Pink’ involved Pink being targeted for speaking her mind, while a movie star spent his week attempting to cancel her instead.

Blair’s Final Message

Her closing remarks positioned her presence as a declaration of survival. Blair pointed out that two years ago the phone stopped, and now she is the one doing the talking.

“I’m a Jew. I’m still here. Hineni,” she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Blair for comment.

Source material: “Selma Blair says 'no one returned my calls' after anti-Islam comment led to Hollywood fallout,” Fox News.

ADL · antisemitism · celebrity fallout · Jewish Museum · Selma Blair