Ice Cube has hit back at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, accusing the NBA star of being a Judas after he criticized the rapper and several other black celebrities for their anti-Semitic tweets which he called a 'troubling omen' for the Black Lives Matter movement.
In a scathing column published in The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, Jabbar called out Ice Cube, NFL star DeSean Jackson and fellow NBA player Stephen Jackson for recent social media posts containing anti-Semitic messages, some of which promoted the controversial views of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
Jabbar referred to a series of tweets by Ice Cube last month that contained 'creepy symbols and images' implying Jews were responsible for the oppression of blacks.
Ice Cube fired back at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after the basketball star criticized him and several black celebrities for their anti-Semitic posts
The rapper accused The Hollywood reporter of giving Jabbar '30 pieces of silver to cut us down'
Jabbar promoted his new column on Tuesday amid the controversy surrounding Ice Cube's tweets and Nick Cannon's podcast in which he spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories
He also criticized Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson who drew backlash earlier this month for sharing quotes attributed to Adolf Hitler and voicing support for Farrakhan.
Jabbar slammed the 'lack of massive indignation' over the posts, saying he was shocked to see little public outrage over displays of anti-Semitism amid the 'new Woke-fulness in Hollywood.'
'It's so disheartening to see people from groups that have been violently marginalized do the same thing to others without realizing that perpetuating this kind of bad logic is what perpetuates racism,' Jabbar wrote.
Ice Cube later fired back at Jabbar accusing him of selling out to write the take-down piece.
'Shame on the Hollywood Reporter who obviously gave my brother Kareem 30 pieces of silver to cut us down without even a phone call,' he tweeted on Wednesday.
Offending image: Ice Cube tweeted one particularly contentious image depicted a group of men with exaggerated facial features typical of antisemitic imagery playing Monopoly (left). Another tweet (right) seemed to suggest that the 'Black Cube of Saturn' lies within the Star of David
Denial: Ice Cube vehemently denied his Twitter account was hacked, following accusations he posted antisemitic memes
Nick Cannon and NBA star Stephen Jackson have been accused of anti-Semitism after voicing their support for controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan (pictured) who is known for making offensive claims against Jews
The phrase is in reference to the biblical story of Judas who was given 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus.
Jabbar is yet to publicly respond to Ice Cube's comments.
The athlete's column was published as backlash grew over an episode of Nick Cannon's podcast in which the actor made anti-Semitic remarks and called white people 'barbaric', 'evil' and 'savages'.
Cannon was fired by ViacomCBS on Tuesday for promoting 'hateful speech' in the widely circulated episode where he spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories claiming black people were robbed of their birthright by Jews.
Jabbar's words were praised by a number of Jewish celebrities including Sarah Silverman and Jake Tapper
The actor drew further backlash on Wednesday after he refused to say he was sorry and issued a statement accusing the media giant of being on the wrong side of history.
Jabbar did not mention Cannon in his piece but criticized Ice Cube and others for continuing 'to defiantly marinate in their own prejudice' even after they are called out.
'Their arrogant and irrational response to accusations of anti-Semitism, rather than dissuade us, actually confirmed people's worst opinions,' Jabbar wrote.
'Ice Cube's response was remorseless: 'What if I was just pro-Black? This is the truth brother. I didn't lie on anyone. I didn't say I was anti anybody. DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE. I've been telling my truth.''
Jabbar's column was praised by a number of Jewish celebrities including Sarah Silverman and CNN presenter Jake Tapper.
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