After becoming aware of an antisemitic rant from a far-right Christian pastor who called for her “untimely death,” comedian Sarah Silverman posted a video of his rant to social media.
“If I get murdered, start here,” Silverman tweeted on Thursday. With the tweet, she included a link from the Friendly Atheist which contained the video showing the sermon by Law of Liberty Baptist Church’s Adam Fannin.
https://twitter.com/SarahKSilverman/status/1159562522036281344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1159562522036281344&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news4jax.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fjacksonville%2Fsarah-silverman-calls-out-jacksonville-pastor-who-hopes-she-dies
Fannin was apparently triggered by a 2005 comedy special by Silverman which was mischaracterized by a right-wing meme. In another tweet, Silverman explained the backstory.
“It goes like this,” she wrote. “Someone on the Right made a meme of a joke from Jesus is Magic, a comedy special I did in character and presented it as if I was saying it at a press conference. It’s a picture of me with the quote ‘I’m glad the Jews killed Jesus. I’d do it again!’ And THAT is what triggered the pastor. So, the person who made the meme knew it was comedy and intentionally repurposed it as real, knowing it would influence a swath of people who see it and share it everyday. And that’s America today. Incitements of violence based on lies and the disingenuous re-framings of truth.”
In the video, Fannin refers to Silverman as one of many “Jewish false prophets” who are “anti-Christian” and “anti-God,” adding that “they’re willing to put Jesus to death again.”
“Listen, she is a witch,” Fannin continued, referring to Silverman. “She is a Jezebel. She is a God-hating whore of Zionism. I hope that God breaks her teeth out and she dies. She is a wicked person and she is like the perfect representation of religious Judaism … She is Satan’s scoffer and she is there to take the world and make ’em laugh and then diss Jesus, try to take away the respect from Jesus.”
Speaking to the Times of Israel, “progressive Baptist” Rev. Travis Akers said that he filed a complaint with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.
“An officer is going to be coming out as well to view the video for themselves, even though they could from the station, but it’s part of the formal filing process,” he said. “Additionally, I have provided them the church information as well.”
Featured image via Charlie Nguyen/Flickr
