Amazon, Barnes & Noble Urged In Open Letter Signed By Celebrities To Pull Controversial Film And Book Promoted By Kyrie Irving
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Mila Kunis, Debra Messing and other entertainment industry figures are among those who have sent an open letter to Amazon and Barnes & Noble, asking that the controversial book and documentary Hebrews to Negroes: Wake up Black America be removed from their platforms.
The nonprofit organization Creative Community for Peace was behind the letter, claiming both Amazon and B&N allegedly “refused to remove the title and continue to profit from its bigotry.”
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Kunis, Messing, Jeopardy! host Mayim Bialik and songwriter Diane Warren were among 200 signatories to the letter. It was addressed to “Jeff Bezos, James Daunt, and the leaders at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.”
The protest comes in the wake of NBA star Kyrie Irving promoting the film with a tweet, then refusing to give an adequate apology. He was then suspended by the Brooklyn Nets and was ordered by the Brooklyn Nets to meet with various groups to make things right.
The CCFP said the book and movie cause “tremendous harm to the Jewish community while spreading dangerous misinformation to an impressionable public that may be susceptible to its propaganda.”
“These works promote numerous anti-semitic tropes and conspiracy theories that have no basis in fact, including manufactured Hitler quotes, false claims of Jewish power and control, that the Jewish people fabricated the Holocaust, and that the Jewish people are fake Jews,” the letter continues. “The claims made in these works have led to the persecution and murder of millions of Jews throughout the centuries.”
Irving’s promotion has increased sales of the book. The CCFP said Amazon and B&N are “profiting from hate.”
“At a time in America where there are more per capita hate crimes against Jews than any other minority, overwhelmingly more religious-based hate crimes against the Jewish people than any other religion, and more hate crimes against the Jewish people in New York than any other minority, where a majority of American Jews live, it is unacceptable to allow this type of hate to foment on your platforms,” CCFP wrote.
The open letter ends with a plea: “We, the undersigned, demand that you immediately remove these works from your sites.”
The Signatories:
Jason Adelman: Vice President, Brand Innovators
Orly Adelson: President, Orly Adelson Productions
Marty Adelstein: CEO, Tomorrow Studios
Ben Adler: Musician
Michael Adler: Partner at Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler, Feldman & Clark
Michael Auerbach: Partner, Jackoway Austen
Nate Auerbach: Partner, Versus Creative
Jeremy Barber: Partner, United Talent Agency
Eve Barlow: Music Journalist
David Baron: Rabbi, Temple of the Arts
Richard Baskind: Partner & Head of Music, Simons Muirhead & Burton
Aaron Bay-Schuck: CEO/Co-Chairman Warner Records
Hannah Bay-Schuck: Music Publisher, Prescription Songs
Miles Beard: Executive VP of A&R, Republic Records
Aton Ben-Horin: Executive VP of Global A&R, Atlantic Records Group
Pablo Bendersky: Producer/Artist
Hilary Bendon: Peace Partner, HXB LLC
Sandra Bendon: Attorney
Steven Bensusan: President, Blue Note Entertainment Group
Adam Berkowitz: Founder and President, Lenore Entertainment Group
Luc Bernard: Director, Voices of the Forgotten
Mayim Bialik: Actress
Josh Binder: Partner, Rotherberg, Mohr, and Binder LLP
Neil Blair: Partner, The Blair Partnership
Allison Bloom
Evan Bogart: Songwriter & CEO, Seeker Music
David Byrnes: Partner at Ziffren Brittenham, LLP
Markell Casey: Senior Director of A&R, Sony Music Australia
Brian Celler: Bravo Charlie Management
Pamela Charbit: A&R Manager, Atlantic Records
Emmanuelle Chriqui: Actress
Adam Cooper: Partner, Jackoway Austen
Leanne Coronel: President, The Coronel Group
Andy Corren: Author
Raye Cosbert: Managing Director at Metropolis Music
Ben Cosgrove: CEO, Leviathan Productions
Paul Craig: Chair, Nostromo Management
Avi Dahan: Attorney, Boyarski Fritz LLP
Ian Daly: Head of Brand Strategy, Live Nation
Greg Daniels: Writer and Producer
Howard Davine: Head of Business & Operations, Wiip
Josh Deutsch: Chairman/CEO – Premier Music Group
Avi Diamond: Director, Film & TV Licensing, Warner Music Canada
Kosha Dillz: Artist
Craig Dorfman: President and Owner, Frontline MGMT
Helen Dosik: Professor of Sociology, California State University, Northridge
David Draiman: Frontman, Disturbed
Beth Elitzer: B. Elitzer Consulting
Talya Elitzer: Co-Founder & President, Godmode Music
Craig Emanuel: Partner, Paul Hastings LLC
Daniel Erlig: Partner, United Talent Agency
Ron Fair: Record Producer & CEO, Faircraft Inc.
Sharon Farber: Composer
Paul Farberman: President, Paul Faberman Entertainment
Daniel Federman: Owner, Maccabi Tel Aviv
Eric Feig: Founder, Eric Feig Entertainment & Media Law, Inc.
Yossi Feinberg: Professor of Economics
Patti Felker: Partner, Felker, Toczek, Suddleson, & Abramson LLP
Jacob Fenton: Partner, United Talent Agency
Ken Fermaglich: Partner, United Talent Agency
David Fishof: Producer and Music Executive
Josh Fluxgold: President, Oneway MGMT
Erica Forster: Entertainment Attorney
Gary Foster: Principal in Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment
Jordan Frazes: Founder, Frazes Creative
Francine Freid
Adina Friedman: Friends at Work
Dara Frimmer: Rabbi, Temple Isaiah Los Angeles
Siri Garber: CEO & Founder, Platform Public Relations
David Gardner: President, Artists First
Nancy Gates: Partner, United Talent Agency
Andrew Genger: Manager, Red Light Management
Lorna Gerry
Gary Gersh: President, Global Touring, AEG
Gary Ginsberg: Senior VP, SoftBank Group Corp.
Karen Glauber: President, HITS Magazine
David Glick: Founder & CEO, Edge Group & Chairman, Tap Music
Elon Gold: Actor, Comedian
Nicole Goldman: EVP, Branding, The Jim Henson Company
Alex Goldstone: Partner, Anonymous Content
Michael Goldwasser: Record Producer & President/Co-Founder of Easy Star Records
Robert Golenberg: Partner at Silver Lining Entertainment Productions
Jonathan Golfman: Co-President, MRC Film
Michael Gordon: Partner, Creative Artists Agency
Andrew Gould: Music Executive
Cary Granat: Co-Founder & Partner, Destiny Media, EMH Media
Trudy Green: Trudy Green Management/HK
Scott Greenberg: Manager and Partner at LBI Entertainment
Steve Greenberg: Founder & President of S-Curve Records
Renee Haas
Ronnie Harris: Partner, Harris & Trotter LLP
Jo Hart: Founder, Hart Media
Avi Hirshbein: A&R, Electric Feel Entertainment and Ventures
Linda Edell Howard: Attorney, Novick Law
Richard “BournRich” Ingram: Artist/Creative Director
Neil Jacobson: Founder & CEO of Hallwood Media
Jordana Jaffe: Writer & Producer
Brandt Joel: Agent, William Morris Endeavor
Zach Katz: President & COO, FaZe Clan
Jonathan Kellerman: Novelist
David Kendall
Ilan Kidron: Artist & Musician
Scott Kluge: President, Tremendous Entertainment
Amanda Kogan: Agent, The Gersh Agency
Rick Krim: CEO, Krim Music & Media
Mila Kunis: Actress
Seth Kurland; Television Writer/Producer
Matt Labov: Manager/Publicist
Gabz Landman: VP A&R, Warner Chappell Music
Sherry Lansing: Former CEO of Paramount Pictures
Colin Lester OBE: Founder/Chairman JEM Music Group
Jonathan Levav: Marketing Professor, Stanford University
Stephen Levinson: Filmmaker/Producer
David Levy: Former President of Turner/WarnerMedia, Founder of Back Nine Ventures
David Levy: Partner, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment
Cory Litwin: EVP, Hallwood Media
David Lonner: CEO, The David Lonner Co.
Ben Maddahi: SVP A&R, Columbia Records
Imran Majid: Co-CEO, Island Records
Gabriel Mann: Composer/Producer
Susan Markheim: Full Stop Management, The Azoff Company
Orly Marley: President, Tuff Gong Worldwide
John Mass: President at Content Partners, LLC
Nancy Matalon: VP of A&R, Spirit Music Group
Debra Messing: Actress
Art Mollen: Physician
Sadaf Muncy: SVP, Development & Production, HappyNest
Spencer Neumann: CFO at Netflix
Joel Nickerson: Rabbi, Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Julia Nickerson
Leetal Nissenbaum: SVP of Synchronization and Licensing, Giant Music & Iconic Artists Group
Lisa Nupoff: Manager at IMIN Music
Tracy-Ann Oberman: Actress
Scott Packman: Founder and Managing Member, SSP Partners LLC
Mandi Perkins: Artist, Composer, Author
Jonah Platt: Actor, Writer
Mike Praw: Music Executive
David Renzer: Former Chairman/CEO of Universal Music Publishing
Sydnee Rimes: Vice President of Current Programming at ABC Studios
Hanna Rochelle: Founder, Purple Productions, LLC
Alex Rockwell: Writer/Producer
Zoe Rogovin: SVP, Non-Fiction Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.
Dan Rosen: President of Warner Music Australasia
Rick Rosen: Co-Founder, Endeavor
Erez Rosenberg: Attorney, Jackoway Austen
Shani Rosenzweig: Partner, United Talent Agency
Michael Rotenberg: Partner, 3 Arts Entertainment
Autumn Rowe: Songwriter, Artist
Piper Rutman
Haim Saban: Chairman and CEO, Saban Capital Group
Asif Satchu: Co-CEO, MRC and Producer
Jacqueline Saturn: President, Virgin Music
Ayalet Schiffman: SVP, Head of Promotions, Island Records
Paul Schindler: Senior Chair of the New York Entertainment and Media Practice, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Steve Schnur: Worldwide Executive & Music President, Electronic Arts
Jordan Schur: CEO & Chariman, Mimran Schur Pictures and Suretone Entertainment
Sam Schwartz: Partner, Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency
Michael Seitzman: Producer, Maniac Productions
Camila Seta: Executive, Brand Consulting
Stefi Shabashev: Songwriter
DJ White Shadow: Producer/Artist
Iliza Shlesinger: Comedian
Noah “Westside Gravy” Shufutinsky: Artist
Jeremy Silver
Ben Silverman: Chairman and Co-CEO, Propagate Content
Ralph Simon: Chairman & CEO, Mobilium Global Limited
Marty Singer: Attorney, Lavely and Singer
Danielle Solzman: Film Critic, Solzy at the Movies
Jeff Sosnow: EVP A&R, Warner and Reprise Records
Nancy Spielberg: President, Playmount Productions
Donna Spievak: VP of Strategic Marketing, Interscope Records
Halle Stanford: President of Television & Executive Producer, The Jim Henson Company
Nancy Steingard: Producer & Partner/Co-Founder, PatMa Productions
Jonathan Steinsapir: Partner, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP
Justin Sternberg
Gary Stiffelman: Founder, GSS Law
Rachel Strassberger: Manager, Grassroots Music
Aaron Symonds: Film Composer
Traci Szymanski: President, Co-Star Entertainment
Nina Tassler: Producer & Partner/Co-Founder, Patma Productions
Adam Taylor: President, APM Music
Scott Tenley: Chief Business Officer, MRC
Geffen Sonnenfeld Toar
Niv Toar: Composer
Fred Toczek: Partner, Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson LLP
Eric Tuchman: Writer, Producer
Oded Turgeman: President, The Operating Room
Alex Voihanski: President, Paramount Business Group
Jeremy Vuernick: President of A&R, Capitol Music Group
Diane Warren: Songwriter, Producer
Joshua Washington: Artist/Producer
Jon Weinbach: President, Skydance Sports
Nola Weinstein: Global Head of Brand Experiences & Engagement, Twitter
Modi Wiczyk: Co-CEO, MRC & Producer
Evan Winiker: Managing Partner, Range Media
Jeffrey Winter: Executive Director, The Film Collaborative
Yale Wolman: Agent, CAA
Sharon Tal Yguado: Founder & CEO, Astrid Entertainment
David Zedeck: Global Head of Music, United Talent Agency
Bradley Zweig: Executive Producer/Writer
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