Fans of the James Bond films have threatened to boycott the next movie if Jewish actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson is named to the role.
According to reports, antisemites have shared the hashtag #BoycottJamesBond on social media in light of reports that the British actor, 33, has all but signed a deal to assume the role of Bond.
The hashtag #BoycottJamesBond has also been widely shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Comments posted to social media include: “Really bad timing with Israel committing genocide in Gaza. Shame on you. I hope your company collapses”; “Boycott Bond, Free Palestine”; and “I won’t buy a ticket for any of its movies. Will boycott all of it.”
One comment claimed that the casting of Taylor-Johnson was an attempt at “trying to clean up the image of Mossad.”
Taylor-Johnson said he was Jewish in an interview, when speaking about a fan saying he resembled a fashionable Hasidic Jew. “That was nice because I have really curly hair and also I'm Jewish,” he said at the time.
Despite the calls for a boycott if Taylor-Johnson is cast as James Bond, there has been no confirmation yet that the actor has indeed accepted the role.
The Sun reported on Monday that the British actor had been “formally offered the opportunity to play James Bond”. While the initial report said the deal with Taylor-Johnson was all but done, the BBC 24 hours later quoted a production insider who said that there is “no truth in the rumors”.