Two bookstores have canceled planned events with actor Brett Gelman, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
The Book Stall in Winnetka, Illinois, and The Book Passage in San Francisco both pulled out of their previously scheduled events with the Stranger Things actor, who was set to promote his debut story collection, The Terrifying Realm of the Possible: Nearly True Stories, scheduled for publication by Dey Street on March 19.
The Jewish News of Northern California reports that a co-owner of The Book Passage said the store pulled out of Gelman’s event because of “intemperate and ill-advised remarks that he made against some other ethnic and social groups.”
The Book Stall told the Sun-Times that it had canceled Gelman’s event because of security concerns, saying, “We did not feel our small bookshop could guarantee the comfort and security of the staff, the community or the author due to issues unrelated to the book.”
Gelman has recently courted controversy for remarks about Israel, Zionism, and antisemitism on social media. Last October, he posted a video on Instagram in which he said, “Hey, fake woke Americans. Guess who actually lives on stolen land? You do.…Me, Jew, you do.” The post was captioned, “To you who have been pushing this false antisemitic narrative for years.…Jewish and Palestinian blood and trauma are in your hands!”
Gelman told the New York Post that he believed the cancellations were due to antisemitism. “I definitely believe it’s because of my vocal support of Israel and because of the fact that I’m Jewish,” he said.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
