‘I DIDN’T CRY’

Amy Schumer Addresses ‘Vitriol’ Over Israel Comments

The “Trainwreck” star told Variety she “can’t help” but share her thoughts on social media, since “the focus is so razor-sharp on Jewish people but not on Hamas.”

In a new profile for Variety, actress-comedian Amy Schumer opened up about why she continues to share her support for Israel to social media despite the “vitriol” she’s received. While filming a scene for her upcoming film Kinda Pregnant, Schumer told Variety “I didn’t cry,” when a heckler interrupted the take to say, “Fuck you, Amy Schumer!” and accused the actress of “loving” genocide. “It’s gotten to this place where you can’t speak up for other Jews without people feeling like it’s a slight to the conditions in Gaza,” Schumer said, but added that she still finds what’s going on in Gaza “sickening, horrifying and unthinkable.” She also said, “I don’t agree with anything that Netanyahu is doing,” but it’s not “OK to hate anyone because they were born Jewish.” Despite the backlash she’s received, Schumer tells the publication that people thank her for her stance “10 times a day.” She attributes a lot of the hate she gets online to being a woman. “People get really mad at women,” she said, “They save a special kind of vitriol for us. It’s not new. I think it’s because they fear women.” In defense of her close friend, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence told Variety, “Amy’s choice to use her voice to speak for justice puts her under immense fire. I wouldn’t say she navigates it so much as she throws her middle fingers up and walks away from negative comments like a gas station fire in a Michael Bay movie.”