Hollywood actor and left-wing activist John Cusack claims a “bot” is to blame for sharing an anti-Semitic meme on Twitter Monday.
New York Magazine contributor Yashar Ali shared a screenshot to Twitter of Cusack writing “follow the money” in response to a cartoon of a large hand with a blue Star of David weighing down on a group of people. To the left of the hand is a Voltaire quote, which reads, “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.”
The Being John Malkovich actor soon after deleted the tweet and alleged he meant to “endorse” a tweet sympathetic to “Palestinian justice.”
“A bot got me,” he wrote, attempt to excuse sharing the anti-semitic cartoon. “I thought I was endorsing a pro-Palestinian justice retweet – of an earlier post – it came I think from a different source.”
Despite claiming he didn’t intend to share the meme, he conceded he should have done so.
However, Ali wasn’t buying Cusack’s excuse and pointed out that the actor, in fact, defended sharing the meme in several instances before deleting it.
The New Yorker contributor then shared four screenshots of the Say Anything star attempting to justify sharing the meme.
In a pair of tweets, Cusack then apologized for sharing the meme, claiming he thought the Star of David was associated with the Israeli flag, not Judaism.
“Well if it needs more clarity -this can be instructive – some thought – to follow – 1. in reaction to Palestinian human rights under Israeli occupation, an issue that concerns anyone fighting for justice , I RT’d & quickly deleted an image that’s harmful to both Jewish – & Palestinian friends, & for that I’m sorry,” he said. “The image depicted a blue Star of David, which I associated with Israel as their flag uses the same color & shape. I know the star itself is deeply meaningful to Jews no matter where they stand on Israel’s attacks on Palestinians.”