Underbelly star Firass Dirani has been dropped from the cast of The Office Australia, five months after it was revealed he would star in the sitcom.
Following his pro-Hamas rant video shared to social media this week, it has been revealed that producers from the spin off ‘changed their mind’ and the 39-year-old left the production before filming even started.
Insiders at Amazon Prime Video, the production company behind the anticipated series, explained the situation to the Saturday Telegraph.
‘Firass was announced as being cast in The Office Australia but he didn’t make it to production,’ they said.
‘There were “differences” before production started. Production has wrapped up and he isn’t in the show.’
Underbelly star Firass Dirani has been dropped from the cast of The Office Australia, five months after it was revealed he would star in the sitcom (pictured on SAS Australia in 2020)
The Saturday Telegraph states it is unclear what those ‘differences’ were.
Earlier this year, Prime Video revealed Dirani would star in the remake alongside Felicity Ward, who will play a ‘modern-day David Brent’.
Other stars cast in the series, that is a spin off from the iconic BBC sitcom and award-winning US version, are Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess), Shari Sebbens.
Firass Dirani is under fire after claiming those who back Israel are ‘supporting apartheid’
On Thursday, Dirani slammed Australians backing Israel, claiming they are ‘supporting apartheid’.
The Australian actor shared a video on social media expressing his support for Hamas after the Palestinian militant group unleashed a horrific attack on the Jewish homeland on Saturday.
Dirani complained that Hamas – which is considered a terrorist group by the Australian government – is being ‘propagated against as if they’re a terrorist militant group’.
He also compared the plight of Ukraine – which was invaded by Russia in February 2022 – with the Hamas’ cause, suggesting the recent attacks which have killed hundreds of civilians was ‘Palestinians resisting the oppressors’.
The now-deleted clip, obtained by The Australian, sparked outrage with viewers slamming Dirani’s comments as ‘demonic’ and calling him out for blocking followers who challenged his stance.
‘Seeing some people posting about in support of the Israeli flag and in a way that Hamas has been propagated against as if they’re a terrorist militant group,’ Dirani, who has 63,000 followers, said.
‘Not too long ago the Ukrainian people were armed and were fighting against Russia, and they were called heroes and people that were resisting, resisting the oppressors, and now when the Palestinians resist the oppressors, that has been going on for 75 years, they’re labelled something else.
‘They’re labelled as terrorists or militants, savages,’ he continued.
‘They have every right to defend themselves, and for those who are supporting Israel, ones that are posting the Israeli flag, you are supporting apartheid, you are supporting apartheid, period.’
Carly Shamgar, who claims she was blocked by the actor, said his comments were ‘cowardly and disgraceful’.
Palestinian militants drive back to the Gaza Strip with a body on Saturday October 7
‘I was questioning whether he’s actually stable, he sounded demonic, it really put the fear of God into me,’ Ms Shamgar told the Australian.
‘I was on a WhatsApp chat with my friends and we could not believe what we were listening to, with such a platform of 63,000 people and the ability to share on Instagram, it’s just not okay.
‘It‘s cowardly and its disgraceful, if you’re going to have the audacity to film yourself to camera to 63,000 followers proclaiming that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation and had every right to do what they did, then you need to engage in a civil conversation with people that actually challenge that.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Dirani for comment.
Israelis were wrapping up the week-long religious holiday of Sukkot on Saturday morning when the Palestinian militant group rained around 2,200 bombs down from Gaza.
Palestinian militants brandish weapons as they pass through Israeli territory on trucks
People flee as clashes flare between Palestinian groups and Israeli forces in Gaza City following the earlier air strikes
The bloodshed marked an escalation in the decades-long military and political conflict between Israel and Palestine.
In Israel, at least 900 people have died and more than 2,300 have been injured by Hamas forces – including dozens of foreigners from the US, Thailand, Nepal, France, Ukraine, the UK, Brazil and Canada.
Among those killed were young people who had travelled to attend the Supernova dance festival near Re’im kibbutz, in southern Israel near the Gaza strip.
Footage shows horrific scenes, including festival-goers fleeing for their lives and Palestinian groups celebrating as they paraded the naked body of a German woman on a truck through Gaza.
Meanwhile, Palestinian authorities estimate 560 people – including many civilians – have been killed and another 2900 injured in Gaza due to retaliatory attacks.
The murder of civilians has drawn widespread condemnation from world leaders and prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say the country is at ‘war’.
Smoke rises from an explosion caused by Israeli airstrikes on the border between Egypt and Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Tuesday
World leaders and diplomats – including Australian politicians – have thrown their support behind Israel.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday morning condemned the ‘abhorrent attack on Israel’, tweeting Australian ‘stands with our friend Israel in this time’.
‘This is a dreadful circumstance that people didn’t see coming,’ he later told ABC’s Insiders.
‘We of course are worried about escalation.
‘There is no precedent for what is occurring here.’
The conflict has ignited tension on Australian shores as Israeli and Palestinian supporters clash.
Hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside the Sydney Opera House on Monday night to demonstrate against the iconic building’s sails being lit up in support of Israel.
The incident sparked anger as pro-Palestine protesters were allowed to chant vile anti-Semitic comments while counter-demonstrators were ordered to stay home and arrested for trying to fly the Israeli flag.
An Israeli woman is seen being forced into a car by a terrorist before she is taken to the Gaza Strip
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