Bipartisan resolution calls on presidents of Harvard, MIT to step down
Fox News national correspondent Bryan Llenas reports on the backlash to university presidents' congressional testimony on antisemitism on 'America's Newsroom.'
Hollywood celebrities have been joining in on the condemnation of the presidents of the country's top universities following their brutal testimony on Capitol Hill tackling antisemitism on college campuses last week.
Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay, now former UPenn President Liz Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth were grilled by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., on whether calls of "intifada" or the genocide of Jews violated their universities' codes of conduct on Dec. 5.
All three of them failed to offer a yes or no response, with some arguing that "context" would be needed to make a determination.
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During the hearing on antisemitism, Magill, Gay, and Kornbluth all gave "evasive" answers when asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik if calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their institution's policies on bullying and harassment. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
"Friends" star David Schwimmer offered a blistering takedown of the "morally bankrupt" university presidents on social media.
"Incapable of answering even the most direct ‘yes' or ‘no’ questions, watch them duck and smirk at the unbridled anti-Semitism and calls for genocide on their campuses. Where is the outrage among students, faculty and alumni demanding their resignations, an official apology and enforcement of the codes of conduct?" Schwimmer asked on Instagram on Friday.
"Silence is complicity," he added.
"Friends" star David Schwimmer blasted the university presidents for being "morally bankrupt" after their widely-panned congressional testimony. (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Sky)
Actress Debra Messing shared a clip of MSNBC's Al Sharpton condemning the testimony on "Morning Joe," agreeing with him when he said, "This is not hard. This is not difficult."
Actor and comedian Michael Rapaport posted a blunt video message for the university presidents on Instagram.
"You must think we're dumb. You must think Jewish people are dumb up there in front of Congress," Rapaport said.
"I thought you had to be smart to be at Harvard, MIT or Penn."
He later continued: "So what you're saying is that maybe some people should go on your campuses in KKK outfits and sing Christmas carols. Is that acceptable? Resign, you motherf---ers, you miserable motherf---ers. We ain't f---in' stupid. We ain't going anywhere, and to the kids on those campuses, stand tall. The Jewish kids — MIT, Penn, Harvard, all the campuses — stand f---ng tall, stand proud, and Happy Hanukkah."
Rapaport subsequently starred in an Israeli comedy show's "Harry Potter" sketch parodying the college presidents' antisemitism testimony.
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"Everybody Loves Raymond" star Patricia Heaton blasted the three on X, formerly Twitter, writing last Tuesday, "So the presidents of @Harvard , @MIT and @Penn all got together and decided to use the word ‘context’ to defend allowing their students to call for the genocide of Jews. I would like to hear them explain which context is a good context for killing Jews, and which context is bad. Maybe add ‘rape’ to that. Is there an acceptable context to talk about raping Jews?"
Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton roasted the university presidents for their comments about needed "context" to determine whether calls for the genocide of Jews violates their code of conduct. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic)
On Monday, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress Charisma Carpenter satirized the testimony by sharing an image of a Holocaust survivor's number tattoo from the concentration camps with a photoshopped tattoo below it that reads, "It depends on the context."
"Never Again Is Now," Carpenter captioned the image on Instagram.
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During an interview on "Piers Morgan Uncensored," comedian Jon Lovitz called the testimony "shocking."
"If that isn't bullying, what is?" Lovitz wondered last Wednesday. "Imagine if there was a group that was in the KKK and then they said that about African-Americans. It would be horrendous."
There have been growing calls for the university presidents to resign. Harvard has maintained its support for Gay despite revelations of her past instances of plagiarism. Meanwhile, Magill was forced to resign as president of UPenn but remains at the university as a professor.