Mila Kunis, 200 celebs denounce antisemitic film in open letter to Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Mila Kunis, Debra Messing and more entertainment industry figures are putting pressure on Amazon and Barnes & Noble to remove antisemitic book "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake up Black America" and its accompanying documentary from their platforms.

Nonprofit organization Creative Community for Peace publicized its letter to both companies on Thursday after they allegedly "refused to remove the title and continue to profit from its bigotry."

Kunis, Messing, Mayim Bialik and Diane Warren are among 200 public figures to sign the letter after NBA player Kyrie Irving promoted the book and documentary on Twitter, leading to a suspension from playing for the Brooklyn Nets.

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."

New Mila Kunis film includes graphic rape scene: Does it do more harm than good?

"These works promote numerous antisemitic 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."

The organization said Irving's promotion catapulted the book into becoming a bestseller and that Amazon and Barnes & Noble 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."

Ye's mental health does not excuse antisemitism, experts say

Kyrie Irving and Kanye West didn't just say hurtful things: They told ugly lies about Jews.

Kyrie Irving promoted the antisemitic film and movie, leading to suspension

On Nov. 3, the Brooklyn Nets suspended Irving at least five games without pay for refusing to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity - but failed - to clarify," the team said in a statement.

In a strong condemnation, the Nets released the statement hours after Irving met with reporters, but declined to offer a direct apology and refused to say he had antisemitic views.

"Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team," the Nets said. "Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets. We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct and the suspension period served is no less than five games."

Previous: Nets suspend Kyrie Irving for at least 5 games without pay

Irving initially refused to back down from his social media post despite a statement from Nets owner Joe Tsai to the NBA. A day prior to his suspension, the Nets and Irving announced a $1 million donation – $500,000 each – to organizations that strive to "eradicate hate and intolerance." Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, applauded the Nets' decision to suspend Irving and said the ADL "cannot in good conscience accept" Irving's donation.

After the suspension was announced, Irving took to Instagram on Nov. 3 to apologize. "To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize," Irving wrote.   

"I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary," he said of his delayed apology.

Irving apologized for sharing the documentary "without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the Documentary I agreed with and disagreed with."

"I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate," the NBA star said.

Kanye West's antisemitism lost him Adidas deal: What took so long?

Contributing: Jeff Zillgitt

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mila Kunis signs open letter to Amazon, B&N to remove antisemitic book