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ABE WON’T BE SILENT - As if parading his wife around nude on the Grammy Red Carpet a couple of weeks ago wasn’t despicable enough, schmuck extraordinaire Kanye West—oh excuse me, Ye, as in Ye Olde Schmuck—has made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Not that you need me to tell you about his latest jerk move during the Super Bowl, where he paid lots of kesef to promote his douchey website, Yeezy.com. I refer SchmucksAreUs.com where he promoted one single item: a T-shirt emblazoned with a swastika, reigniting widespread outrage over his antisemitic behavior. Which reminded us about his past heinous antisemitic aggressive antics. Who. could forget that Candace Owens horrendosity. The Jewish community mobilized quickly, and platforms like Shopify shut down his site. But despite the seriousness of this act—promoting Nazi imagery to his 31 million sycophants—sadly, not enough Jewish celebrities came out out against him.
Yet, when an AI-generated video featuring deepfakes of Jewish celebrities wearing “Fuck Kanye” shirts surfaced, suddenly the outrage machine exploded. Scarlett Johansson, among others, immediately condemned the misuse of AI, denouncing the unauthorized use of their likenesses. The issue? They spoke up more forcefully about an AI-generated image of themselves than about an actual instance of antisemitism broadcast on one of the biggest media nights of the year.
Look, I get it—AI is coming for all of us—but the timing of this “feigned concern” is shamefully misguided at best. And it exposed the feckless banality of celebrities as a worthwhile marketing strategy. For fashion, fragrance, and beauty, yes. Life lessons? No! Are celebrities being used to promote a specific cause a worthy investment? The bigger question is, can you guarantee a return on said investment? And when I say ‘worthy’, let’s not even talk about the amount of money that gets thrown around for political endorsements, campaigns, and assorted liberal causes.
This glaring hypocrisy exposes a deeper truth: is the power of celebrity activism placement waning? The assumption that celebrity involvement translates to social or political change or impact is being dismantled in real-time.
Let’s talk about the word ‘worthy’ in regards to celebrity endorsements. Kamala Harris’s recent campaign is a prime example. She had an overwhelming amount of Hollywood backing, multi-millions of dollars, and high-profile endorsements up the wazoo. And yet, did it move the needle? Sure, that’s not the only reason Kamala didn’t win, but it’s ‘worth’ talking about.
[SIDEBAR] The night before the election at Kamala Harris’s last rally held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, when I saw Oprah march out on stage to introduce Kamala, was when my heart sank and I knew something was wrong with this picture. In Chicago, I get it. But in Philly? No. What this ultimately proved—to me at least—is that public trust in celebrities as political influencers has eroded. Clearly, voters no longer care about which actors or musicians are backing a candidate or cause. Inclusion and optics don’t automatically lead to positive messaging outcomes and most notably to get people off their asses to VOTE!
The Kanye controversy only reinforces this shift. In an era where antisemitism is on the rise—correction, has risen to the nth power—silence from influential voices speaks volumes. The entertainment industry was quick to rally behind the AI issue because it was personal. But when it came to condemning a clear-cut act of hate, many stayed silent. That contradiction should be a wake-up call.
My platform of Won’t Be Silent has always been a clarion call to social justice. Well, my tone or tune is shifting now. My fabulous mother, a Holocaust survivor, always said. “I have seen evil firsthand; all I wanted to do was to raise good children.” Hopefully, I am a testament to her vision. Among her many pearls of wisdom she’d say, "Abela, can you catch more bees with honey."
So, while the AI controversy gained tremendous attention, it ultimately failed to achieve the desired effect, which was engaging Jewish celebrities to be out, proud, and vocal with consistency about the issues Jews are dealing with. Instead of standing up to the real issue—antisemitism—they were more focused on defending themselves from the so-called boogeyman in the room—the AI monster.
[SIDEBAR] Just to say when I saw the first images of that campaign, I texted my friend, Michele that this was not a good idea because it would boomerang. There was no way whoever created it had gotten all the sign offs from publicists and lawyers in such quick turnaround. But what do I know?
The takeaway? We can no longer count on celebrities to lead movements or shape discourse in any meaningful way. Can they be of service and be spokespeople for causes close to their hearts? Of course. It is our job is to peel back to “We the People” with a strong emphasis on “We the Jewish People.” I hereby proclaim that!
The real fight against hate and antisemitism won’t be waged on red carpets or in curated Instagram posts—it will come from people who actually show up when it matters—to vote, speak up, and stand up together.
Peace…Literally & Figuratively…ABE
(ABE GURKO is the executive producer of a documentary “LOUDER: The Soundtrack of Change,” about the extraordinary Women of Protest Music streaming on MAX. He's an Opinionator who hosts a podcast, "Won't Be Silent," engaging in conversations from the edge of democracy. Abe is a contributor to CityWatchLA.com. [email protected].)
