Actor Jamie Foxx apologized to the Jewish community Saturday after a cryptic Instagram post about "fake friends" was accused of promoting antisemitism.
"I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I'm sorry," he wrote. "That was never my intent."
In a since-deleted post, Foxx wrote: "THEY KILLED THIS DUDE NAME JESUS...WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY'LL DO TO YOU???! #fakefriends #fakelove."
It's not clear what prompted the post.
A Wider Frame, a newsletter that says it aims to provide "a better overall understanding and scope of Jewish world news," shared Foxx's original post and called it "horrifically antisemitic." Actor Jennifer Aniston then re-posted A Wider Frame after she came under fire for seeming to have liked Foxx's post.
"This really makes me sick," Aniston wrote in an Instagram Story. "I did not 'like' this post on purpose or by accident. And more importantly, I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feed - I do NOT support any type of antisemitism. And I truly don't tolerate HATE of any kind. Period."
Foxx, who has been recovering after an undisclosed medical emergency, clarified that his post was directed at a "fake friend" who betrayed him.
"That's what I meant by 'they' not anything more," he wrote. "I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended."
Many people came to Foxx's defense, some saying his post referred to a phrase commonly used by the Black community.
"Any black person growing up in the south will tell you that Jamie Foxx wasn’t referring to Jewish people. 'They killed/lied on/talked about Jesus' simply means 'If Jesus can be betrayed, so can you.' He genuinely meant fake friends/fake people. So quick to reach, it’s ridiculous," a user tweeted.
"Jamie Foxx is a decent person so of course he apologized for potentially offending folks. But it def got misconstrued in the most oblivious way possible, like was the 'fake friends' hashtag only visible for some folks??" another tweeted.
"I read Jamie Foxx’s original post and just wondered what fake friends had done him wrong. That’s all," another tweet read.