American actress Jamie Lee Curtis sparked controversy after she likened the devastating wildfires spreading throughout Los Angeles to the situation in Gaza during a Thursday conference for her new film The Last Showgirl.
The footage of Curtis’s statement, where she said that “the entire Pacific Palisades looks like Gaza,” circulated virally throughout social media and resulted in much backlash and condemnation.
“I’m born and raised in the City of Angels [Los Angeles], and the entire City of Angels is on fire everywhere. The entire city. The Pacific Palisades is gone,” Curtis says at the beginning of the clip.
“My house tonight is still there, but I live in a different canyon,” she continued.
“But the entire Pacific Palisades looks like, unfortunately, Gaza or one of these war-torn countries where awful things have happened,” Curtis stated.
Jamie Lee Curtis comments on the Los Angeles fires during a Q&A:“The entire Pacific Palisades looks like, you know, unfortunately Gaza or one of these war-torn countries where awful things have happened”pic.twitter.com/APe3CYw8we
— Pop Base (@PopBase) January 10, 2025
Condemning Curtis’s comparison
Social media users condemned Curtis’s comparison, with many accounts also criticizing her past support of Israel.
This is a completely atrocious comparison considering this is the same woman who advocated for Israel’s genocide in Gaza
— Mohammad Asif Manaf (@ManafA193) January 10, 2025
Following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023, Curtis also sparked controversy when she made a post in support of Israel but used a photo of Palestinian children in Gaza, which was thought to be a mistake. She subsequently deleted the post.
Many users resurfaced Curtis’s deleted post as they criticized her recent statement on Gaza.
Last week, Curtis appeared on The Tonight Show and also spoke about the California fires, calling them a “catastrophe” and encouraging people to take action to support the victims of the fire.
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