Resident Evil’s Milla Jovovich In Trouble For Supporting A Controversial Figure
Milla Jovovich, best known for her leading appearances in film franchises such as Monster Hunter and Resident Evil, has come under fire this week for her public support of controversial writer and activist Shaun King. King has recently been kicked off of Instagram due to a series of highly political posts supporting a free Palestine, which is a major hot-button issue in the cultural zeitgeist.
Jovovich initially shared a message that demanded King’s accounts be reinstated, throwing her support behind his work, before eventually deleting the post and apologizing for associating with him.
Tensions surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict will continue to rise as more celebrities and public figures speak out on both sides of the issue.
The conflict at the Gaza Strip has served as a source for a great deal of Hollywood controversy in recent months. While celebrities often wont to speak their mind on perceived injustices around the world, the highly political nature of the religious extremism and persecution at the root of the conflict has led to many supporters of Palestine being labeled as antisemitic. Milla Jovovich deleted her message of support for Shaun King after personal friends of hers alerted her to claims that the activist shares these antisemitic views.
Milla Jovovich clarified that she is unsure of whether King is an antisemite or not, but chose to delete her post because she didn’t want to risk harming any of her personal relationships. Shaun King has clarified in the past that he holds no antisemitic views, though his framing of the conflict as a genocide perpetrated by Israel’s government has led some to believe that he holds a fundamental bias against the Jewish community.
Shaun King, Melissa Barrera, and Milla Jovovich have each taken to social media to clarify that they respect all people regardless of their cultural or religious affiliation, and simply wish for an end to all forms of violent conflict.
This story is highly reminiscent of Melissa Barrera’s firing from Scream 7, which occurred after the actress also referred to the situation at the Gaza Strip as a genocide.
Shaun King, Melissa Barrera, and Milla Jovovich have each taken to social media to clarify that they respect all people regardless of their cultural or religious affiliation, and simply wish for an end to all forms of violent conflict.
This sentiment seems to be shared by nearly every celebrity weighing in on the violence taking place, serving as a fundamental baseline of humanity for both sides of the political spectrum. King has continued to utilize his platform to call for an end to the violence, while demanding a free and sovereign Palestinian state.
With all the discourse surrounding the ongoing conflict and the tedious social relationships upheld by those who speak publicly on it, it wouldn’t be surprising if Milla Jovovich and others choose to wash their hands of the entire situation and keep their feelings on the matter to themselves.
Of course, tensions surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict will continue to rise as more celebrities and public figures speak out on both sides of the issue. This only adds to the tension present within the filmmaking industry due to the strikes that plagued 2023 and the studio interests, which refused to offer a fair deal to their union-repped laborers for months at a time. Milla Jovovich may not be the first individual to court controversy with her opinion on the situation, and she surely won’t be the last.
