A wave of backlash followed Hannah Einbinder's Emmy acceptance speech Sunday night after she won Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for HBO Max's Hacks. The moment drew both applause and controversy when she concluded with the line "F--- ICE and free Palestine!"
Einbinder later defended her remarks, saying she spoke as a Jewish person on behalf of Palestinians and that Jews should be distinguished from the state of Israel. "I feel it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel because our religion and our culture is such an important and longstanding, basically, institution that is really separate to this sort of ethnonationalist state," she said.
Yuval David, a fellow Emmy-winning Jewish actor, responded with sharp criticism. "Hannah Einbinder’s Emmy speech was a performance of ignorance, not courage," David said in a statement on Tuesday. "She said nothing about peace, nothing about ending the war, and nothing about the hostages still suffering in Gaza. To claim Jews can be separated from Israel is an insult to our history and faith, as more than seven million Jews live there and every Jew in the world faces Israel when we pray." He continued, "Prayers and philosophies about the ‘Land of Israel’ exist throughout every facet of Judaism. For thousands of years, we refer to our collective as the nation of Israel. If Hannah truly cares about justice, she should come to Israel, look Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the eye, and see how peace is achieved in front of her own eyes."
Dereck Andrade, a SAG-AFTRA member and former strike gate captain during the 2023 actors’ union strike, wrote to the union asking if Einbinder could face disciplinary action after her Emmy remarks. The letter, provided to Fox News Digital, asked whether there would be any disciplinary action regarding what he called Einbinder’s "inflammatory and disturbing comments." "As a SAG-AFTRA member, I take great umbrage in her comments that could potentially create more deadly violence," Andrade wrote. "While I fully respect her right to her opinions, I do not agree with her comments. She has sullied my union because many people falsely believe that all we union actors are left-wing extremists bent on violence. She just added unnecessary fuel to that fire, and placed a target on me as a SAG actor." He added that he filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission after learning that her "vulgar diatribe" was watched by more than seven million people, according to Nielsen data.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also condemned Einbinder’s remarks, saying they denigrated Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. "How ugly — such demonization is inspiring violence against our ICE law enforcement, who are facing a 1,000% increase in assaults against them," McLaughlin said in a statement. "As this woman fans the flames of hatred, our brave law enforcement will continue enforcing the rule of law and protecting Americans." Einbinder’s remarks were met with cheers from many in the room, a point of contention in the broader reception.
Fox News Digital reached out to SAG-AFTRA and Einbinder for comment.