Julianna Margulies Is Getting Canceled

Julianna Margulies is coming under fire after claiming that Black and LGBTQ+ people should do more to support Israel in the war against Hamas, while describing people who support Palestinians as "brainwashed to hate Jews."

Appearing on The Back Room podcast on November 1, the actress shared her belief that young Black and LGBTQ+ people overwhelmingly support Palestinians, accusing them of "spewing antisemitic hate."

The 58-year-old also suggested non-binary people would be "beheaded" in predominantly Islamic regions—such as the Gaza Strip—before criticizing the Black community for not standing "side-by-side" with Jewish people.

Her remarks have caused uproar on social media and Newsweek has reached out to Julianna Margulies for comment via email.

On October 7, Palestinian militant group Hamas commenced a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking another 240 hostage, according to the Associated Press. Israel subsequently launched airstrikes on Gaza followed by a land invasion.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is "at war" and suspended supplies of food, medicine, energy and fuel into Gaza, before launching a ground offensive into the territory. As of December 1, at least 15,000 Palestinians have been killed according to Reuters, while two-thirds of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been made homeless, according to the AP.

Speaking to host Andy Ostroy, Margulies—who is Jewish—said she'd heard about a Black lesbian group at Columbia University banning Jewish people from a film night. However, reports suggest the group may have been excluding "Zionists"—a nationalist movement dedicated to establishing and maintaining a Jewish state in Palestine.

"As someone who plays a lesbian journalist on The Morning Show, I'm more offended by it as a lesbian than I am as a Jew," she said. "I want to say to them 'You f****** idiots. You don't exist. You're even lower than the Jews. A) You're Black, and B) You're gay.'"

Although she plays an openly gay character on TV, Margulies is married to lawyer Keith Lieberthal, with whom she shares 13-year-old son Kieran. Margulies has previously been supportive of the LGBTQ+ community, but told Ostroy the "kids" expressing anti-Jewish sentiments are primarily non-binary people.

"These people want us to call them they/them, or whatever they want us to call them," the Good Wife star said. "Which I have, respectfully, really made a point of doing—like, be whatever you want to be.

"[It's] those people that will be the first people to be beheaded and their heads played like a soccer ball on the field."

She added: "That's who they're supporting? Terrorists who don't want women to have their rights. LGBTQ people get executed. Bar none, you're dead."

Margulies also expressed doubt that the Israel-Hamas conflict is about who should have control over Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, believing the war is actually about "jihadism and radical Islamism."

"I'm educating myself," she continued. "I don't want to spend my day learning about jihadists; they're a toxic, horrible, inhuman people who think I shouldn't exist in the world—P.S., not just because I'm Jewish but also because I'm a woman."

Concluding her interview with Ostroy, Margulies referenced the Ken Burns documentary The U.S. and the Holocaust (2022), particularly how Adolf Hitler was influenced by the Jim Crow laws of the American South.

"In the civil rights movement, the Jews were the ones that walked side by side with the Blacks—to fight for their rights, because they know," the Emmy winner said. "The fact that the entire Black community isn't standing with us, to me, says they don't know, or they've been brainwashed to hate Jews."

Margulies' interview sparked outrage, with users calling her remarks "unhinged" and "loathsome."

"Just because you're a celebrity doesn't mean you should be open opening your mouth on this subject!" said Ilana Kaplan on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, describing Margulies' comments as "gross and damaging."

@Chicagojewlz agreed, writing: "This is the grossest rant I've seen in a LONG time."

"Juliana Margulies says she's offended by Black lesbians supporting Palestine 'as a lesbian' because she played one on TV. That's taking method acting to a whole new (moronic) level," said Brennan Leffler.

"People from all over the world are calling for an end to the bombing in Palestine, yet she zeroes in on Black Americans and scolds them for not being deferent enough towards the bomb wanters," commented Crystal Contreras-Grossman.

"I am glad her psychotic racist rant is finally making the rounds it deserves," wrote Candice Bomb. "She's a disgusting person who deserves her whole career wrecked for being a despicable and unapologetic racist Zionist pig."

Margulies isn't the only Jewish celebrity to receive backlash for their pro-Israel or anti-Palestinian comments, with comedian Amy Schumer slammed for sharing a meme that inferred Gazans are rapists. Some Stranger Things fans have threatened to boycott the show unless cast member Noah Schnapp is fired after the 19-year-old posted a statement that said: "You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism."