Aaron Taylor-Johnson is rumored to be the next James Bond so it comes as no surprise that antisemites are threatening to boycott.
Lest anyone think that I have been silent, I have been using my Buttondown newsletter to speak out against antisemitism. There is no space for Jew-hatred. It is an awful virus that needs to be removed from this planet. But until we finally rid the world of such hate, I’m going to keep calling it out. This is where my life as both a Jew and a film journalist intersects. No matter how many industry colleagues decide they want nothing to do with me anymore (I’m already dealing with antisemitic harassment, leading to a drop in social media followers), I will not shut up when it comes to calling out antisemitic bigotry.
I’m letting EON Productions do their thing as far as the casting search and making things official. But in the meantime, the thing that disgusts me the most are the antisemitic bigots and their boycott threats. It isn’t just that the antisemites are threatening boycotts but how they are doing it. They are tying the potential casting of Taylor-Johnson directly to the Israel-Hamas war as if the war has any say in the casting decisions let alone the next film itself. Newsflash: neither have anything to do with each other. It is antisemitic to collectively hold Jews responsible for the Israeli government.
Be my guest but it just shows how racist people are right now. Antisemitic boycotters are nothing more than a bigot and racist against Jews. This is what the past half year has done. It’s broken friendships that are now completely irreconcilable. Speaking for myself, I’ve lost friendships that are never going to return. As I wrote in my Buttondown newsletter the other day, you cannot have me at my trans activism if you won’t even have my existence as a Jew and Zionist. The majority of world Jewry are Zionist and we know exactly what people mean when they say “No Zionists allowed.”
This brings us to where we are right now: the war has made it nearly impossible to exist in any space as a Jew without boycott threats or actual boycotts. Boycotts are nothing new for us but it just makes the 2020s look no different than the 1930s. Meanwhile, I can no longer exist as a transgender Jew in trans spaces because trans spaces are no longer safe or welcoming to me. Talk to any left-wing Jew and they will tell you how people are pushing them out of formerly safe and welcoming spaces. Causes that never had any foreign policy stances are no longer welcoming to Jews. This is what it means to be Jewish in 2024. How can anyone be remotely okay with this?!? Where is the outrage? Why do too many people remain silent against antisemitism?!?
In non-boycott news, former James Bond actor George Lazenby has given Taylor-Johnson his endorsement. Another former James Bond actor, Pierce Brosnan, has also given Taylor-Johnson his blessing. Brosnan’s comments came during an appearance on RTE Radio’s The Ray D’Arcy Show. “I think the man has the chops and the talent and the charisma to play Bond, very much so,” Brosnan said during the appearance. The actor also discussed working with Taylor-Johnson on 2009’s The Greatest, a film that Brosnan produced through Irish DreamTime.
The actor fits the bill for what EON is looking for: an actor in their 30s who can portray the British secret agent for a number of films. Daniel Craig recently completed a 15-year run with 2021’s delayed No Time to Die. Should they go forward with Taylor-Johnson, it is probably unlikely that they retcon Bond to be Jewish.
Antisemitism has no place in the entertainment industry.
The next James Bond movie is TBD.
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