Actress Selma Blair apologizes for Islamophobic comment online

Legally Blonde actress Selma Blair has issued an apology for leaving an Islamophobic comment on social media, claiming she ‘inadvertently conflated Muslims with fundamentalists.’ Blair, 51, came under fire after eagle-eyed netizens spotted her comment beneath a video on Instagram.

In the February 2 post, the Cruel Intentions actress called for the deportation of Democratic representatives Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib, who is Muslim herself, referring to them as ‘terrorist-supporting goons.’ 

The since-deleted comment read: ‘Deport all these terrorist supporting goons. Islam has destroyed Muslim countries and then they come here and destroyed minds. They know they are liars. Twisted justifications. May they meet their fate.’ The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, condemned the statement and called on her to apologize. 

‘Based on the hateful and ignorant remarks that Ms. Blair made, we doubt that she has ever engaged in any meaningful interactions with her Muslim colleagues in Hollywood or other members of the American Muslim community,’ National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said. ‘We encourage Ms. Blair to apologize, and we also invite her to dialogue with our community.’ 

On Tuesday, Blair returned to social media to post a lengthy apology. ‘This is a time of great pain and anguish for many around the world, but it is also a time to learn and better understand how words matter,’ she wrote. Blair claimed she had commented on a post ‘regarding two congress members who are against banning October 7th Hamas terrorists from entering the USA.’ The original post criticized Bush and Tlaib for voting present on the ‘No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act,’ which would prevent foreign nationals who participated in or facilitated the October 7 Hamas attacks from seeking immigration-related relief in the United States. ‘In my comment, I mistakenly and inadvertently conflated Muslims with Radical Islamists and fundamentalists, a terrible err in my words, and resulted in hurting countless people I never meant to, and I deeply regret this,’ Blair continued, adding that she swiftly deleted the comment.

Blair added: ‘I erred in my writing and I fully recognize how I contributed to the Muslim community being understandably very upset. I respect and love all peace-loving communities, all over the world. It was my Muslim friends who helped educate and show me the way. I am committed to paying forward their love and understanding. We cannot allow ignorance and rage to becomes (sic) our downfall.’ Blair ended the apology by reaffirming her support for marginalized communities and promising to ‘do better.’

While her supporters flocked to the comments, many posting the colors of the Israel flag, others saw the expression of regret as disingenuous. ‘Nah, you’re only posting this cause you got called out – don’t lie,’ one netizen remarked. Others assured Blair that she had nothing to apologize for. ‘You never said anything about ALL Muslims. You have no reason to apologize,’ one user wrote. ‘She said Islam has destroyed Arab countries. Pretty generalized to me. Disgustingly so,’ another replied.

In the wake of her apology, Blair was also criticized for posts she’d liked on X, formerly Twitter. These included vague statements denouncing ‘Antifa’ and ‘the woke agenda,’ as well as a viral conspiracy theory linking an early version of the new Minnesota state flag to Somalia. ‘Armed citizens don’t need legislation to defend themselves or their state/country. It’s our God-given right to do so,’ read one liked comment. Netizens pointed out that she’d liked other anti-Muslim comments including one calling Islam ‘the religion of evil, created in hell’ and another deeming it ‘a hatefull (sic) and violent sect.’

Blair’s account on the platform has since been deleted. ‘Selma Blair’s dumbass apology completely ignores her liked tweets and replies she had made here,’ one X user commented. ‘So dishonest and disingenuous. Same goes for the articles I’ve read about it, completely glossing over the whole of it. Disgusting.’ The actress also drew the ire of Briahna Joy Gray, the former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders. ‘To be clear, this apology doesn’t address that Selma Blair said Rashida Tlaib & Cori Bush should be deported, & broadly disparaged Islam as “destroy[ing]” Muslim countries,’ Gray wrote. ‘The video she liked & commented under also called Tlaib a “moron,” a “hateful anti-semite,” and a “liar.” Blair did not merely contribute to “misinformation.” And this apology is non-responsive.’

Rates of Islamophobia and antisemitism have skyrocketed in the United States since October 7, when Hamas militants flooded from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing civilians and taking hostages. The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. increased by 388 percent in the four weeks after October 7, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Likewise, CAIR reported that the number of Islamophobic incidents in the U.S. increased by 216 percent during the same period.

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