Most people in the United States spent these past few days reflecting on their patriotism and thinking about the future of their country. Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson spent it quoting Adolf Hitler and Louis Farrakhan.
Jackson has since issued a sort-of apology for sharing a quote falsely ascribed to Hitler about Jews planning global domination. Jackson said he “probably shouldn’t have ever posted anything that Hitler did” and that it “never was intended to put any race down or any religion down,” but he said he was just trying to “enlighten my people.”
While the invocation of Hitler will justifiably take up a lot of air space, the promotion of Farrakhan is problematic in its own way — and one that is much more widespread among celebrities and athletes.
Jackson posted a video of Farrakhan with the caption: “#farrakhan This man powerful I hope everyone got a chance to watch this !! Don’t be blinded. Know what’s going on !!” The clip was from Farrakhan’s July Fourth speech, which included him saying Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci wanted to depopulate the Earth through vaccines. That post was liked by NBA star Kevin Durant, and NFL quarterback Jameis Winston showed his support in the comments.
Just last month, it was comedian Chelsea Handler who shared a video of Farrakhan, which was then liked or shared by Jameela Jamil, Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Rapper Ice Cube has leaned very hard into anti-Semitism on Twitter, and he attacked CNN’s Jake Tapper for condemning Farrakhan.
Farrakhan has a long, documented history of anti-Semitism, referring repeatedly to “Satanic Jews,” saying Jews were his enemy, and making favorable comments about Hitler. These aren’t recent revelations; a 1984 headline from the New York Times states, “Farrakhan Again Describes Hitler as a ‘Very Great Man.’”
How is it that Farrakhan still manages to get promoted by mainstream celebrities and athletes despite his despicable worldview? Jackson’s apology was self-contradictory, and Handler used her “apology” to defend Farrakhan. Even those who are ostensibly punished for supporting him end up with only a slap on the wrist. Prominent Farrakhan acolyte Linda Sarsour stepped down from her role with the Women’s March over her handling of anti-Semitism, simply to turn around and become an official campaign surrogate for Bernie Sanders in 2020.
For as widespread and unforgiving as cancel culture has become, that celebrities somehow manage to escape every discussion of Farrakhan and anti-Semitism is incredible. Perhaps those who profess to be opposed to bigotry could put a little more effort here than on Mount Rushmore.
