Outspoken Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel this week demanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be ousted, condemning him for not seeking more peaceful solutions to the war in Gaza following Hamas’ horrific Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state.
“Israel will never be truly secure with Bibi Netanyahu in charge,” the Endeavor Group Holdings CEO said while accepting an award Wednesday from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
“For the good of Israel, he should go,” added Emanuel.
The shocking remarks threw both applause and boos from attendees of the Beverly Hills gala, and some walked out as Emanuel was accepting the Jewish organization’s Humanitarian Award, its highest honor, according to the New York Times.
“Netanyahu doesn’t want a peaceful solution,” said Emanuel. “And it’s become clear that getting to a political solution and Netanyahu remaining in power are irreconcilable paths.”
“As for his responsibilities to keep the people of the state of Israel and Jews across the globe safe, he has obviously failed spectacularly,’ he said. “But he has succeeded wildly in using division to stay in power.”
The audience at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel included an array of other entertainment giants, including Larry David, Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
Considered one of Hollywood’s most outspoken execs, Emanuel two years ago called on businesses to end ties with Kayne West after the rapper made antisemitic remarks.
Emanuel, who played a key role in the combination of WWE and UFC into the TKO Group last year, is the brother of Rahm Emanuel, who is now Joe Biden’s ambassador to Japan after previous stints as mayor of Chicago and Barack Obama’s White House Chief of Staff. Rahm Emanuel’s Michigan home was defaced with antisemitic graffiti in November.
In 2006, Ari Emanuel wrote an open letter calling for the film industry to boycott Mel Gibson after the “Lethal Weapon” actor went on an antisemitic rant during a drunk-driving arrest, but a year later, Emanuel accepted an apology from Gibson and supported his return to the industry.
Emanuel dropped Gibson from his William Morris Endeavor Entertainment four years later, after Gibson was accused of assaulting an ex-girlfriend. The two have since reportedly again mended fences, thanks to the intervention of Wahlberg, who befriended Gibson after they worked together.
