‘I only played a Jew… I dread to think what would happen if I WAS Jewish’: Actor Eddie Marsan tells of torrent of vile anti-Semitic abuse he received after role as activist who battled neo-Nazis
- Eddie Marsan revealed he has been inundated with antisemitic abuse
- Mr Marsan played taxi driver Soly Malinovsky in TV drama Ridley Road
- His character on the programme is a taxi driver who led the 62 Group
Actor Eddie Marsan revealed he was inundated with antisemitic abuse after portraying a Jewish anti-fascist.
Mr Marsan, who played taxi driver Soly Malinovsky in TV drama Ridley Road, shared screenshots of Twitter abuse he had received, calling it ‘relentless’.
He said: ‘All I did was play a Jew, I dread to think what would’ve happened if I was actually Jewish.’
His character on the programme is a taxi driver who led the 62 Group – Jewish activists who fought neo-Nazism in 1960s Britain.
Mr Marsan, 53, told The Times he hoped publishing the abuse he received – including being accused of ‘apartheid loving’ – would bring attention to antisemitism.
Eddie Marsan revealed he was inundated with antisemitic abuse after portraying a Jewish anti-fascist
‘I was using my non Jewishness to highlight the fact that this is ridiculous,’ he said. ‘Sometimes if a Jewish actor or writer or artist highlights it, it is diluted because people kind of expect it.’
Ridley Road, is written by Sarah Solemani and based on a Jo Bloom novel.
One social media user had criticised Mr Marsan for ‘gaslighting’ fans.
Mr Marsan said that his co-stars such Tracy-Ann Oberman – who was outspoken about claims of antisemitism in the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn – had been the subject of ‘traumatic’ abuse because they are Jewish.
‘If you make a film about racists or antisemites and you highlight historical abuse, which also resonates with what’s going on now, you’re going to p**s off racists,’ Mr Marsan said.
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