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From Chaplin To Boy George, Fighting Antisemitism Means Facing The Mob
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. In 1940, at the start of World War II, when America had not yet entered the conflict, it was Charlie Chaplin’s film “The Great Dictator,” which lampooned Hitler and the Nazis and spoke clearly of their dangerous antisemitism and the threat they posed to the world. The clown became the soothsayer, the voice of morality.
Until that point, Hollywood, even with its many Jewish studio heads, had been mainly too frightened to tackle this threat head-on. Just one major film, Warner Bros. “Confessions of a Nazi Spy,” which looked at a German-American Nazi spy ring, had come close.
And the reaction to that film had been immediate; theaters across the U.S. were picketed and vandalized. One cinema was even burned down. It was a warning to beware the anger of the mob. For Hollywood Jews , feeling their place in society so untethered, the message was clear—they needed to pipe down, keep schtum.
Which is why Chaplin’s self-financed and risky move—from a non-Jew who understood antisemitism—was so important. His film told the world he saw the problem. He saw it was wrong. And everyone else should see the danger, too.
He first found fame in the 1980s with the band Culture Club. He wore makeup and long hair, and was a proud gay man in the AIDS era. Like many pop stars, he’s battled drug addiction. Unlike most of them, in 2008 he ended up in jail for the false imprisonment of a Norwegian escort.
So his career has seen many ups and downs, but last week he did something extraordinary. He wrote and released a reggae song on his social media accounts, “We Will Dance Again,” which has the key lyrics: "But if you’re ever confused/I stand with the Jews/I don’t feel brave/I just need to behave like a human."
It was possibly the most extraordinary thing a non-Jew has done for the Jewish people since the October 7 attack in 2023 created a new and deadly wave of antisemitism. Just as in the 1930s, too many celebrity Jews–apart from a brave few—have maintained a frightened silence and their gentile friends have echoed their anxious muteness. They know what will happen if they dare stand up against today’s antisemitic mob, a contrast to “pro-Palestine” celebrities who often seem to treat the war like a football match, dress up in kaffiyehs and applaud themselves.
George’s actions have shown how upside-down this is.
He was inspired to write the song after visiting the Nova Exhibition in its last few days in London. He’d met grieving parents Lisa and Mike Marlowe whose son Jake, who was working on security at the exhibition, was murdered as he tried to help people get to safety. He met May Hayat, whose best friend Liron Barda was killed (tragically, over the weekend, Liron’s boyfriend Bar Asraf killed himself at her graveside, highlighting the traumatic legacy of the attack).
“We took a picture standing in front of all the people who were killed that day,” Boy George wrote in a statement, adding: “I felt these deep emotions and wrote this song for them.”
Perhaps most controversially for some, he wrote the lyric: "You say genocide, I say war/When you’re attacked, that’s what the army’s for… ."
The reaction was swift and frightening. It showed once again what happens if you dare speak up: How the mob will try and shut you down.
Some publications attacked his “pro-war” or “anti-Palestinian” stance. He was forced to withdraw from performing in a West End production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" in London because, allegedly, of threats to the theater and murmurings from fellow cast members that they were too frightened to be on stage with him.
His record distributor refused to put out the song, so he self-published on a platform called Bandcamp, which then pulled his music down. When an Israeli artist created a mural of him in East London it was quickly vandalized several times with an inverted red triangle and the words “Zionist c***” and “baby killer supporter.”
This overt hatred serves as a warning to any artist who dares to rock the boat: you too can lose your career, your fans and your friends if you stand with the Jews .
And it's not just words. Not even just cancellations. We know how angry and violent this mob can be, what their vicious rhetoric can eventually lead to: 2025 saw the biggest number of murders of diaspora Jews for 30 years.
Yet, this is not a sad story. The suffragette motto “Courage calls to courage” may yet serve as an inspiration. George has said that while he was canceled by some, he has found love in so many more hearts.
“I don’t feel cancelled?” the singer said in a post on X. “My follows have gone up to almost a million on Instagram and on here to half a million?” He described how his record had been selling in huge numbers until it was banished by Bandcamp, with some people sending him thousands of dollars in appreciation.
Perhaps George’s bravery will open the seal for more celebrities to speak out. George says he is ready for it. "I live for this total grass roots moment!” he wrote. “Rock and f***ing reggae roll!’ We can’t pick our heroes. Often they aren’t the people we expect.
Nicole Lampert is a London-based writer and commentator for publications including The Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Independent and The Jewish Chronicle.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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