Friends icon David Schwimmer has slammed Hollywood stars refusing to speak out against antisemitism.
Schwimmer, 58, who notably portrayed Ross Geller on the beloved sitcom – took to the stage at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never is Now conference in New York City on Tuesday to plead for his ‘heroes’ to publicly condemn racist abuse.
The actor noted that some of the stars he was referring to had ‘made’ their careers either by ‘leaning into their Jewish identity’ or playing Jewish people onscreen.
The speech also comes weeks after Schwimmer demanded that Elon Musk ban Kanye West from X following his latest anti-Semitic rants and labeling himself as ‘a Nazi.’
Schwimmer said: ‘Plenty of people I respect, even some of my heroes in entertainment, music and sports, have chosen to keep a low profile and sit this one out, including some whose careers have been made by leaning into their Jewish identity, and others who have won acclaim for playing Jews onscreen.
‘Some of them are doing a lot behind the scenes, privately and in their own way, but so many have chosen not to say anything publicly at all.
‘And if I can say something directly to them: I really wish you would.’
Friends icon David Schwimmer has slammed Hollywood stars refusing to speak out against antisemitism – pictured Tuesday in NYC
Schwimmer, 58, who notably portrayed Ross Geller on the sitcom (pictured) – took to the stage at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never is Now conference to plead for his ‘heroes’ to publicly condemn racist abuse
‘I wish you would stand up. I wish you would speak out, because your voice would be so meaningful to your fans who love you, to your community members who need you, to folks who can use just a little solidarity right now.’
‘No one’s asking you to solve the conflict of the Middle East. Just say that you stand with your Jewish friends, colleagues, and neighbors against hatred and what’s happening on our college campuses and in our schools and to Jewish-owned businesses is totally unacceptable.’
Gal Gadot also took to the stage to receive the Anti-Defamation League’s International Leadership Award.
Gadot, 39, repeatedly declared her pride being an eighth-generation Jewish Israeli during her 12-minute acceptance speech where she called for the release of the dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.
‘With every hostage release we hear new testimonies of the horrors they’ve been through. Every minute for them is hell. Their lives are in danger and we need them home,’ Gal said to uproarious applause.
‘None of us can ignore the explosion of Jew hatred around the world anymore. We have had enough of Jew hatred we will confront anti-Semitism. We will call it out, but but we will never let it, not only, defeat us but define us because our love is stronger than their hate.’
Hours later, Gadot wrote that this moment is about everyone ‘refusing to be silent in the face of anti-Semitism.’
‘October 7 was a wake-up call, but it also reminded us of our resilience and unbreakable bond,’ the Israel Defense Forces veteran – who boasts 133.6M social media followers – wrote on Instagram.
The actor noted that some of the stars he was referring to had ‘made’ their careers either by leaning into their Jewish identity or playing Jewish people on screen
Schwimmer had previously slammed ‘bigot’ Kanye West for his three day antisemitic tirade last month – and called for his X account to be suspended
Gal Gadot was ‘deeply honored’ to receive the Anti-Defamation League’s International Leadership Award at the event (pictured with ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt)
‘We must continue to educate, share our stories, and stand up against hate — because love will always be stronger.’
On Monday, Gadot shut down outrageous claims from a viral post alleging she pulled out of presenting the best documentary Oscar, which went to Palestinian director Yuval Abraham’s film No Other Land.
The Wonder Woman alum’s representative told DailyMail.com that the rumors were completely untrue as she was always supposed to present the Oscar for best visual effects on Sunday alongside her Snow White co-star Rachel Zegler.
Gal portrays the Evil Queen in Disney’s Snow White, which hits US/UK theaters March 21.
Last month Schwimmer – who has been among the most outspoken Jewish celebrities
took to social media to urge the Tesla CEO to ‘stop giving West a megaphone’ on the platform.
The actor – whose account on X is currently suspended – uploaded screenshots of the rapper’s recent unhinged rants on what is formerly known as Twitter.
‘This is so 2022,’ he began in the caption. ‘We can’t stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate filled, ignorant bile… but we CAN stop giving him a megaphone, Mr. Musk.’
‘Kanye West has 32.7 million followers on your platform, X. That’s twice as many people than the number of Jews in existence.’
Schwimmer continued, ‘His sick hate speech results in REAL LIFE violence against Jews.’
‘I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that he identifies as a Nazi (which implies he wants to exterminate ALL marginalized communities including his own).’
‘Or the fact that there is not sufficient OUTRAGE to remove and ban him from all social media at this point. Silence is complicity,’ David concluded in his message to Elon.
A day later West’s account was deactivated following his vile tirade – however it has since been reinstated.
Musk began his acquisition of Twitter back in April 2022, which was then concluded that same year in October.
The SpaceX founder has been vocal about censorship and an advocate for free speech.
Schwimmer’s account on X is currently ‘suspended’ although it is not exactly known when that took place.
Last month West – also known as Ye – took to X where he labeled himself as a Nazi and also asked President Donald Trump to free Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
The music artist further sparked outrage when he mocked Cassie’s assault by Diddy – who is currently in prison while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges.
Last month Schwimmer took to his Instagram page to urge the Tesla CEO to ‘stop giving West a megaphone’ on the platform; seen in 2024 in NYC
The actor – whose account on X is currently suspended – uploaded screenshots of the rapper’s recent unhinged rants on what was formerly known as Twitter; West seen in 2024 in Milan
‘Or the fact that there is not sufficient OUTRAGE to remove and ban him from all social media at this point. Silence is complicity,’ David concluded in his message to Elon
Kanye has also since taken to the social media platform to say he has ‘dominion’ over his wife Bianca Censori and branded her controversial naked Grammys dress the ‘best look of all time.’
West was first accused of anti-Semitism in 2022 after making a series of racist remarks. However, he later apologized, insisting it was not his ‘intention to hurt or demean’ the Jewish community.
Yet in a rambling U-turn, Kanye penned a series of tweets on X on Thursday, claiming that he will never ‘trust or work with Jewish people’ again and insisting he ‘will not apologize’ for his views.
Among his most shocking tweets in the hours-long tirade, Kanye proudly declared: ‘I AM A NAZI’, later adding: ‘I LOVE HITLER NOW WHAT B*****S.’
The troubled rapper also addressed concerns that his wife Bianca Censori is a victim of coercive control after her naked outing at the Grammys, claiming he has ‘dominion’ over her.
Kanye, who took aim at several minority groups in his foul-mouthed tirade, went on to state that ‘IF I LOST EVERYTHING ‘AGAIN TONIGHT WAS WORTH IT I CAN DIE AFTER THIS’, while also insisting he was ‘sober’ while tweeting.
Having voiced his support for incarcerated rapper Diddy, Kanye doubled down by saying he would ‘never speak again’ to anyone who disagreed with him, while also using homophobic slurs to lash out at those who supported Kamala Harris.
Kanye also went on to lash out at the ‘woke’ decision to use female plus-size models in fashion shows.
Schwimmer’s account on X is currently ‘suspended’ as of Sunday, February 9 – although it is not exactly known when that took place
Earlier this week on Thursday, West – also known as Ye – took to X where he labeled himself as a Nazi and also asked President Donald Trump to free Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
He then unleashed a vile anti-Semitic diatribe after claiming hours earlier that the Jewish community control the narrative.
Retracting his 2023 apology, he tweeted: ‘IM NEVER APOLOGIZING FOR MY JEWISH COMMENTS I CAN SAY WHATEVER THE F**K I WANNA SAY FOREVER WHERES MY F***ING APOLOGY FOR FREEZING MY ACCOUNTS SUCK MY D**K HOWS THAT FOR AN APOLOGY.’
He went to make unfounded claims that the Jewish community are responsible for aborting black children.
‘BE CLEAR YOU JEWISH N****S DONT RUN ME NO MORE THIS IS A FREE COUNTRY AND THIS IS MY FREE OPINION YOU ABORT BLACK CHILDREN FOR STEM CELLS ABORTION IS MURDER AND ITS PUSHED ONTO THE BLACK AND LATINO COMMUNITIES.’
Calling on anyone who works for him but disagrees with his views to ‘quit’, he went on to claim he wouldn’t work with any Jewish people again.
Insisting he was sober while making these remarks, he tweeted: ‘AINT NOBODY RAMPED UP EITHER IM CALM AS ICE THIS HOW I REALLY FEEL HOW I REALLY FELT AND HOW I WILL ALWAYS FEEL F**K ALL OF YOUR F**K A** UNFAIR BUSINESS DEALS.’
‘AMY JEWISH PERSON THAT DOES BUSINESS WITH ME NEEDS TO KNOW I DONT LIKE OR TRUST ANY JEWISH PERSON AMD THIS IS COMPLETELY SOBER WITH NO HENNESY [sic].’
Hours earlier, he began his rant by addressing incarcerated rapper Diddy who has been locked up at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center since he was arrested last year on sex trafficking, racketeering and prostitution charges.
Kanye has also since taken to the social media platform to say he has ‘dominion’ over his wife Bianca Censori and branded her controversial naked Grammys dress the ‘best look of all time’
He then unleashed a vile anti-Semitic diatribe after claiming hours earlier that the Jewish community control the narrative; seen in 2024 in Milan
Retracting his 2023 apology, he tweeted: ‘IM NEVER APOLOGIZING FOR MY JEWISH COMMENTS I CAN SAY WHATEVER THE F**K I WANNA SAY FOREVER WHERES MY F***ING APOLOGY FOR FREEZING MY ACCOUNTS SUCK MY D**K HOWS THAT FOR AN APOLOGY’
Diddy has vehemently denied all of the allegations and charges against him. He has been denied bail multiple times.
And in a seemingly unrelated tweet, he repeated the shocking claims he made in 2018, writing: ‘SLAVERY IS A CHOICE.’
Appearing to go back to defending Diddy, he went on: ‘THEY TRYNA PROVE A POINT AND YALL KNOW THAT YALL F***ING KNOW THAT AND SITTING LAUGHING AT THE F***ING INTERNET ON INSTAGRAM THIS MAN GAVE HIS LIFE TO US THIS MY IDOL THIS MY HERO.’
This week, West further sparked fury when he appeared to mock Cassie’s assault by disgraced rapper Diddy in a series of posts on X.
Alongside a screenshot of security footage of Combs assaulting Cassie in a hotel, West wrote, ‘When I [sic] man truly loves a woman he may express it in rage I empathize with both sides.’
Underneath the same screenshot, he also typed, ‘You have to truly be in love to get to the point of risking everything.’
He then added, ‘Hey question if someone were to beat up their girlfriend in public, would that be considered domestic violence, or is that outdoor violence, or is it just public indecency? ….Im just asking for a friend.’
In one of his last nonsensical posts, Kanye claimed he had banned from Instagram again – at the time of posting his Instagram account was still active.
