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Actor Michael Rapaport of FRIENDS fame has come under fire for his comments on the American civil rights movement leader in light of Martin Luther King Jr. Day being celebrated on Monday, January 15. On the day celebrating King's life, Rapaport posted an Instagram and X video containing footage of King supporting the existence of Israel and captioned it saying,
"CANCEL THIS ZIONIST TODAY!!!! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a #ZIONIST & there’s no doubt he would be cancelled if he was alive today!!!"
Rapaport's statements almost immediately backfired as the actor was hit with severe backlash from social media users. His comments section was filled with people condemning him for misrepresenting MLK and stating that the man would not have supported any genocide.
Michael Rapaport claims that Martin Luther King would've been canceled in today's age
Rapaport put out an Instagram video on January 15, showcasing MLK speaking favorably for Israel and the Jewish community. He pasted excerpts from two MLK videos. In the first clip, King said in a 1967 interview,
"The whole world must see that Israel must exist and has the right to exist and is one of the great outposts of democracy in the world."
The second clip showcased King giving a speech in which he proclaimed,
"If my Jewish brothers and sisters said to me amid antisemitism anywhere, 'We don't need your support, we have enough Jewish power to deal with this problem ourselves', I would still take a stand against antisemitism because it's wrong, it's unjust, and it's evil."
Michael Rapaport used these two statements from Martin Luther King to allege that he was a Zionist and claimed that he would've been canceled today. He captioned his controversial Instagram post,
"CANCEL THIS ZIONIST TODAY!!!! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a #ZIONIST & there’s no doubt he would be cancelled if he was alive today!!!"
He further added,
"ZIONISIM is very very simple, it SIMPLY means that you think/believe that ISRAEL has the right to exist. Period. It just sounds EXOTIC. Are you a ZIONIST???"
Michael Rapaport's MLK statements receive imminent backlash
Netizens were furious with Michael Rapaport for his comments on Martin Luther King. People highly doubted if MLK would've supported genocide or the killing of civilians on either side if he was still alive. Social media users condemned the actor for using MLK to justify any violence. Here are a few reactions to the actor's Instagram post:
Michael Rapaport is a well-known American actor who has appeared in many movies and television series, often as a supporting character. However, he is most notable around the globe for his brief stint on FRIENDS as Phoebe Buffay's ex-boyfriend, Gary. That fictional relationship ended when Gary infamously shot a bird with his gun.
He has also played a memorable role in films and television series like Prison Break, Higher Learning, Atypical, Tru Romance, Sully, The War At Home, Only Murders in the Building, and more. No stranger to controversy, Rapaport also pled guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend and famous actor Lili Taylor in 1997.
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