Chelsea Handler is apologizing for
posting a video of Louis Farrakhan on Instagram, saying she wasn’t “thinking” about the Nation of Islam leader’s long history of anti-Semitic and homophobic comments.
Handler, 45, shared an undated clip of Farrakhan from “The Phil Donohue Show” with her 3.9 million Instagram followers on June 14, claiming she “learned a lot” from watching Farrakhan debate audience members on whether racial prejudice would ever be eradicated.
The post, which has since been deleted, was reportedly shared or liked by several other celebrities, including Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Aniston and Michelle Pfieffer, but renounced by many who were puzzled why Handler, who is Jewish, would share the viewpoints of Farrakhan — whose Nation of Islam is characterized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“I want to sincerely apologize for posting the video of Louis Farrakhan,” Handler
wrote the Daily Beast in an email Tuesday after Monday’s “The Last Laugh” podcast. “I didn’t consider the context of his anti-Semitic and homophobic rhetoric, that is of course contrary to my own beliefs and values. Part of the process of educating ourselves during this pivotal time is recognizing and working through our mistakes.”
Handler continued: “This was definitely one of mine. I was wrong. It was offensive, and I apologize.”
On Monday’s podcast, “
Chelsea Handler Faces Her White Privilege,” the comedian and author defended Farrakhan, saying she thought “his message was really powerful” while stopping short of removing the clip.
“I wasn’t thinking about the anti-Semitic thing, but I don’t want to take down the post because I felt the message was powerful and a lot of people did,” Handler said.
The clip simply resonated with Handler, she said.
“It was powerful for me the way he spelled it out,” Handler continued. “That black people don’t have a history of killing white power. White people have a history of killing black people, for hundreds of years. Over and over again, we kill black people in this country. So everyone needs to remember where the violence came from.”
Handler also flatly told her critics what she thought of the blowback prior to taking down the clip.
“It’s not from the black people, it’s from the white people,” Handler said. “So I thought it was powerful. So whatever, you know, everybody can go f–k themselves.”
nypost.com
