Bassem Youssef caused a stir on social media this week when he claimed he lost a role in James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy” due to his vocal support of Palestine.
Youssef went viral last year following his October appearance on “Piers Morgan: Uncensored,” during which he used his signature dark humor as he criticized Israel. “They said Israel is the only military force in the world that warns civilians before bombing them,” he said. “How fucking cute! That is so nice of them because with this logic, if Russian troops started warning Ukrainians before bombing their houses, we’re cool with Putin, right?”
In a new interview with Salon this week, Youssef addressed his comments and asserted his belief that his role in ‘Superman: Legacy’ was written out because of the Morgan interview. “I was a little bit bitter about losing the role, and I was kind of very sad, like why, in the United States of America, you can talk about Joe Biden, and you can talk about Donald Trump, but you cannot criticize a foreign government? Which is kind of very sad.”
“Because of that, I was cast in the movie, ‘Superman,’ and then they told me, ‘We changed the script,’ after this Piers Morgan interview. I want to assume good faith. I want to know, I want to believe that this is true,” he continued. “I was a little bit bitter, and I wanted to go, I was like, ‘Oh, screw DC, screw Warner Bros.’ But then I understand, I understand the emotional burden that those people have. I mean, those people have a connection with Israel.”
He continued, “I understand maybe the people who are in charge, that took the decision, looked at me and didn’t want to have me. And maybe I understand. If I’m an Arab Muslim, I was the head of Warner Bros., I wouldn’t like a pro-Zionist or a pro-Israel to be in my movie if he attacked my people. I understand. This is the thing that we need to dissect: when I attack Israel, I attack its policy, I’m not attacking Jewish people.”
However, production insiders disputed the timeline of events.
According to a source close to the production, the character was in the script, and Gunn talked to Youssef about possibly playing the role, but a formal offer was never made and talks never went further, because the character was dropped from the script before the strikes started. The changes to the story were made prior to Hamas’ attack in Israel.
Gunn posted on X after this report was published, writing “This is accurate.”
