Kyrie Irving has put himself in the middle of another controversy.
The Nets star raised eyebrows with a tweet and an Instagram story that included an Amazon page marketing – and tacitly endorsing – a 2018 movie ‘Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America’ that was described as filled with misinformation anti-semitic.
The film is based on a 2015 book of the same name.
Rolling Stone called the film and book “venomous anti-Semitic,” citing statements claiming that “many famous, high-ranking Jews” “admitted” “worship”[ing] Satan or Lucifer.
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A Nets spokesperson told the Post, “The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have zero tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech. We believe that in these situations, our first action should be open and honest dialogue. We thank those, including the ADL [Anti-Defamation League]who supported me during this time.
The film’s description on Amazon states that the film “uncovers the true identity of the children of Israel by proving the true ethnicity of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the sons of Ham, Shem and Japheth. Find out what the Islam, Judaism and Christianity have covered up for centuries when it comes to the true biblical identity of the so-called N***o in this film filled with tons of research.
A similar description of the book, as noted by Rolling Stone, reads: “Ever since European and Arab slave traders set foot in Africa, black people have heard lies about their heritage.”
Both suggest that “Hebrews in N***o*s” espouse ideas consistent with extreme factions of Black Hebrew Israelites, which have a long history of misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia and above all anti-Semitism, wrote Jon Blistin of Rolling Stone. The fourth chapter of the book, titled “When Did Anti-Black Racism Begin?” also begins by falsely suggesting that anti-black racism can be traced to key Jewish texts.
There are other passages throughout the book that have also been proven wrong, according to the Rolling Stone article.
This is just the latest example of Irving getting into a controversial subject.
In September, Irving shared a conspiratorial 2002 video of Alex Jones decrying a “New World Order” on his Instagram.
Last season, Irving also found himself embroiled in his skepticism of the COVID-19 vaccine, which cost him much of his season with the team. And in 2018, Irving, then on the Celtics, claimed the Earth was flat before later apologizing.
This article first appeared in The New York Postand has been reproduced with permission.
