British actor Hugh Laurie on Friday distanced himself from Zionism after receiving negative reactions online for eulogizing an Israeli friend who died at the age of 52.
“Nothing I have ever said or done could lead a sane person to believe that I am a Zionist,” Laurie, 66, the star of Fox Network’s “House M.D.” medical drama, wrote on X in response to criticism of his Feb. 17 eulogy of producer Dana Eden. He added he’d block on X anyone who “exults” in the death of his “friend.”
A creator of the “Tehran” series by Israel’s Kan broadcaster, Eden, was found dead last week at a hotel in Athens. Greek police suspect suicide, but have not yet established a cause of death. Laurie had a role in the third season of “Tehran.” The fourth season is currently being filmed.
Laurie’s clarification on his record regarding Zionism followed an earlier post on X, when he wrote: “Dana Eden, who co-created and produced ‘Tehran’, died on Sunday, seemingly by her own hand. It’s a terrible thing. She was brilliant and funny, and an exceptional leader. Love and condolences to all who knew her.”
The post received hundreds of comments, including some that lambasted Laurie for eulogizing Eden because she was Israeli.
“She was part of the occupation force’s propaganda arm. What a shame, didn’t expect you to be a closet Zionist,” wrote one user with the handle Natasha and more than 15,000 followers. That comment received 10,000 views and hundreds of “likes.”
Laurie’s distancing himself from Zionism also prompted criticism, with Jonathan Sacerdoti, a British-Jewish journalist, penning an op-ed about it for The Spectator. If Laurie’s remark about Zionism “concerns the legitimacy of Jewish nationhood in Israel, confront the implications directly and own the full genocidal implications of your beliefs,” he wrote.
Screenwriter Lee Kern accused Laurie of “posturing as if you’re the tough guy here but actually appealing to bullies to leave you alone by throwing Jews under the bus” and dismissing “Jewish self-determination.”
