British actor Stephen Fry slammed for Christmas video addressing antisemitism

People are reacting after a British Jewish actor shared his thoughts on the rise of antisemitism in the United Kingdom in the wake of the Israeli-Hamas war.

In the video that aired on Monday, Dec. 25, Stephen Fry urged the citizens of the United Kingdom to speak out against Jewish hatred and be kinder to one another.

“Standing upright means standing up and calling out venomous slurs and hateful abuse wherever you encounter them,” Fry said. “At this time in the face of the greatest rise in anti-Jewish racism since records began, Jews should stand upright and proud in who they are.”

Fry citied growing antisemitism statistics from the Metropolitan Police, saying there have been 50 incidents in London alone every day since Oct. 7, the day the Palestinian militant group Hamas invaded Israel. This has amounted to a 1,350% increase in anti-Semitic crimes in the city, according to the actor.

These incidents included shop windows being smashed, Stars of David and swastikas being painted onto walls of Jewish properties, synagogues and cemeteries and Jewish schools being forced to close, the actor said.

“It’s agonizing to see all the violence and destruction that’s unfolding, and the terrible loss of life on both sides brings me an overwhelming sadness and heartache,” Fry said in the video. “But whatever our opinions on what is happening, there can be no excuse for the behavior of some of our citizens.”

He also recalled his own Jewish grandparents who emigrated to England to escape the treatment of Jews in Central Europe in the 1930s.

“They believed Britishness meant being fair and decent, but what can be more unfair or indecent than race hatred, whether antisemitism, Islamophobia or any kind?” Fry asked.

“Knowing and loving this country as I do, I don’t believe that most Britons are OK living in a society that judges hatred of Jews to be the one acceptable form of racism,” he continued. “So speak up, stand with us, be proud to be Jewish or Jew-ish – or, if not Jewish at all, proud to have us as much a part of this great nation as any other minority, as any of you.”

Fry’s message did not sit right with everyone as multiple commentators accused him of drawing more attention to himself and his country than Palestinians in Gaza.

“Stephen Fry’s Christmas message is one of the most dark and twisted things I’ve ever heard,” @TheNewReview2 wrote on X. “Imagine watching the barbaric mass murder that’s going on in Palestine and deciding that the biggest thing going on in the world right now is a reported rise in antisemitism in Britain.”

“I’ve worshiped Stephen Fry for my entire adult life. To hear him conflate Anti-Zionism with antisemitism has shocked me,” X user @tiffy201 said. “To hear him show no care or support for the Palestinians & instead centre people in this country has broken me.”

Anti-Zionism, according to the Anti-Defamation League, is “opposition to Zionism, the movement for the self-determination and statehood of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, the land of Israel.”

“We don’t have a problem with Jews, Stephen Fry, we have a problem with genocide & you know it,” musician James Kennedy said on X. “When it was Jews who were the targets of genocide, this country gave half a million lives fighting the evils of Nazism. Now we fight to protect Palestinians. It’s what we do. Same rules.”

The video drew some support as well, with a user commending the transcendence of Fry’s message.

“His message is clear and one I support,” X user @NialFinegan said. “From my perspective you could change the ‘British’ for ‘Australian’ or ‘Irish’ in his message. What his video, reflect and #SayNoToHate.”

“I’m a big fan of @stephenfry, but after watching this video I’m an even bigger fan,” @BermanNDP wrote on X. “Jews should be safe to practice their culture openly wherever they live, free from harassment, persecution and hate.”

As of Tuesday, Dec. 26, Fry has not released a public statement regarding the reaction to the video.