Glastonbury Cancels Screening Of ‘Oh, Jeremy Corbyn, The Big Lie’ Doc After Jewish Groups Accuse Film Of Pushing Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory
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Glastonbury Festival has removed documentary Oh, Jeremy Corbyn, The Big Lie from its film program after Jewish groups accused it of putting forward an antisemitic conspiracy theory around why the politician never rose to the position of UK prime minister.
The move, which has prompted a counter backlash from supporters of Corbyn, comes just six years after the politician was given a rock star’s welcome at the festival when he addressed a 50,000-strong crowd in 2017.
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The documentary, produced by activist London-based production house Platform Films, was due to screen in Glastonbury’s Pilton Palais cinema tent as part of a line-up also featuring The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Spider-Man: Across The Spider Verse as well as classics such as Withnail And I.
The film challenges allegations of antisemitism within the Labour Party under Corbyn’s leadership, which would eventually lead to him being suspended as a member in 2020 after he refused to retract his statement that the scale of the issue had been overstated by opponents.
In a description on its website, Platform Films says the work “explores a dark and murky story of political deceit and outrageous antisemitic smears.”
Narrated by stand-up comedian and actor Alexei Sayle, interviewees include political activist Jackie Walker, who was expelled from the Labour Party in 2019 for antisemitic remarks; filmmaker Ken Loach and Israeli anti-Zionist activist Moshe Machover.
Jewish groups have expressed alarm about the film and the conspiracy theory at its heart and began lobbying Glastonbury to cancel its planned screening when it came to light that it was in the festival’s film program.
“Jeremy Corbyn’s diehard supporters are determined to peddle the false myth that the only reason he is not the Prime Minister is that a conspiracy orchestrated by the Israeli Embassy supposedly invented a load of stories about antisemitism in the Labour Party,” Jewish group CST (Community Security Trust) said in a statement.
“It is this claim that is a big lie, and it denies and insults the very real harassment and abuse suffered by many Jewish Labour Party members during that period, while itself reinforcing antisemitic stereotypes. The idea that this appalling film is going to be shown at the Glastonbury Festival, which prides itself on its anti-racism, is a disgrace, and the decision to show it should be reversed.”
At the heart of the criticism is a silent montage visually suggesting that Jewish groups including the Jewish Board of Deputies, the Jewish Labour Movement, Labour Friends of Israel, and the Israel Advocacy Movement were involved in an “orchestrated campaign” against Corbyn.
Prominent left-wing journalist and political commentator Paul Mason, a former Marxist and Corbyn supporter, was also among those lobbying against the screening in an article entitled “The Big Lie film: Glastonbury should not screen Corbyn conspiracy theories”.
He wrote of the extract: “As a professional filmmaker I recognise this wordless presentation of a controversial idea not as an accident but as a technique: using captions and pictures to state what, if spoken aloud, could be accused of anti-Semitism.”
Responding to the backlash, Glastonbury announced it was pulling the film on Monday evening.
“Although we believe that the Pilton Palais booked this film in good faith, in the hope of provoking political debate, it’s become clear that it is not appropriate for us to screen it at the Festival,” wrote the event.
“Glastonbury is about unity and not division, and we stand against all forms of discrimination.”
The Glastonbury Festival runs from June 21 to 25, with headline acts including Elton John, Arctic Monkeys and Guns n’ Roses.
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