John Cusack is apologizing for sharing an anti-Semitic image on his Twitter account Monday after he initially defended the tweet.
The actor, 52, took to Twitter to explain why he retweeted the image, which shows a cartoon hand with a Star of David pushing down a group of people with a quote beside it: ”To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” Though the quote is attributed to Voltaire, the phrasing is actually based on writing from white nationalist and neo-Nazi Kevin Alfred Strom.
The tweet has since been deleted.
Screenshots show that Cusack initially tried to blame a “bot” on the retweeted image, despite defending the post in multiple quote tweets. All of those tweets have also been deleted.
1. it's clear that even if it was Israel's flag & even if you don't have antisemitic bone in your body, it is still an antisemitic cartoon. Because it deploys anti jewish stereotypes in its attacks on Israel, even if those critiques about state violence are legit
— John Cusack (@johncusack) June 18, 2019
I mistakenly
2 I mistakenly retweeted an alt right account I thought was agreeing With the horrible bombing of a hospital in Palestine -
— John Cusack (@johncusack) June 18, 2019
”A bot got me,” Cusack wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “I thought I was endorsing a pro Palestinian justice retweet - of an earlier post - it came I think from a different source - Shouldn’t Have retweeted.”
He later explained that he considers a bot to be the same thing as an alt-right account.
”A bot is an alt right account - same thing- not a person but an organized agenda,” he tweeted.
Now, Cusack says sharing the image was a mistake, writing, “my bad on the retweet”
”I mistakenly retweeted an alt right account I thought was agreeing With the horrible bombing of a hospital in Palestine,” he said in a series of tweets.
He continued, “it’s clear that even if it was Israel’s flag & even if you don’t have antisemitic bone in your body, it is still an antisemitic cartoon. Because it deploys anti jewish stereotypes in its attacks on Israel, even if those critiques about state violence are legit”
USA TODAY has reached out to Cusack’s rep for comment.
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