Open letter condemning director’s Oscar speech on Gaza criticized over fake names
An open letter purporting to be signed by more than a thousand “Jewish creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals” that denounces director Jonathan Glazer for his pro-Gaza Oscars speech is a public Google Form that anybody can sign.
The letter was initially signed by around 500 people, including actors like Debra Messing and Brett Gelman, as well as directors like Eli Roth and Amy Sherman-Palladnio, gained an additional 500 signatures after being published, reported Variety.
“We are Jewish creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals,” the letter read. “We refute our Jewishness being hijacked for the purpose of drawing a moral equivalence between a Nazi regime that sought to exterminate a race of people, and an Israeli nation that seeks to avert its own extermination. Every civilian death in Gaza is tragic. Israel is not targeting civilians. It is targeting Hamas.”
Multiple human rights organizations have condemned Israel for attacks on civilians which they say should be investigated as war crimes. In one report from February, Amnesty International said that Israeli forces “continue to flout international humanitarian law, obliterating entire families with total impunity.”
In Glazer’s acceptance speech, which he won for Best International Feature film for the Holocaust drama “Zone of Interest,” the director said that the film “shows where dehumanization leads, at its worst. It shaped all of our past and present. Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation, which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of … October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”
A tweet from Variety on X sharing the article was quickly community noted when users discovered that the letter, which is meant to be a “Statement From Jewish Hollywood Professionals,” didn’t vet any of its signers to make sure they actually were Jewish or part of the film industry.
“The letter is a simple Google Form that does not confirm or ask for proof that the signers are Jewish creatives or professionals,” read the community note. “One of the signers listed by Variety is a SAG AFTRA member named “Riverto Thesea” (River To The Sea).”
Some users on X didn’t appreciate the fact that there was no vetting for signing, and thought that Variety was facilitating further false signups by including a link to the letter in the article.
“It's easy to maximise the signatories when you've got a signing link right with the article and no verification required,” posted @GwylAnarchaidd.
“The letter is full of fake names and only grew because you posted a link to signing it previously,” added @CrucibleOfWords. “This is really scummy work from Variety[.]”
Variety eventually responded to the backlash by updating their article and removing the link to the form. The outlet also admitted that it was aware of reports regarding fake signatures.
“It is unclear how the open letter came together,” reported Variety.
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