Ayo Edebiri isn’t a household name yet, but “The Bear” star got plenty of media coverage last month.
Why?
X owner Elon Musk shared a false rumor that she’s attached to a female-centric reboot of “The Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. That sparked “death threats” from the usual, pathetic suspects.
It’s neither pretty nor healthy, but it’s sadly the New Normal with pop culture news. This reporter once got a death threat for suggesting “Bob’s Burgers” had jumped the shark.
The Edebiri threats sparked a wave of media coverage including CNN, Rolling Stone, Variety, People, The Hollywood Reporter, Vulture and more mainstream outlets.
Ayo Edebiri said she received “insane death threats” after Elon Musk shared a false report that claimed Disney was considering Edebiri as a replacement for Johnny Depp in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. https://t.co/ap0JkakTJ7
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) March 12, 2025
That’s not all. Nearly every headline pinned the blame on Musk.
The billionaire shared Fake News, no doubt, and he should behave better given his considerable clout. He’s not to blame for strangers sending death threats her way.
That’s still how the “journalists” framed it.
We’re now learning a much bigger movie star, Gal Gadot of “Snow White” fame, had to beef up security measures in recent months. The news is getting mostly ignored in the press.
Why? Journalists can’t pin this one on Musk, Trump or other right-leaning figure. Plus, the likely threat comes from the far Left, the same group shouting “Free Palestine” and harassing Jews across college campuses.
Is there another explanation?
Even Variety, which broke the death threat story, downplayed the news.
“Inside Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Fiasco: Death Threats, Beefed-Up Security and a Social Media Guru for Rachel Zegler,” reads the Variety headline.
The article suggests Zegler’s “Pro Palestine” social media post sparked the threats.
Behind the scenes, death threats toward Zegler’s co-star Gal Gadot, who is Israeli, spiked [following the ‘Free Palestine’ post], and Disney had to pay for additional security for the mother of four.
Gadot is Jewish and previously served in the IDF. She has been outspoken about supporting Israel, but it’s been a very modest part of her public persona.
That was enough to inspire pro-Palestinian supporters to not only call for her death but inspire Disney to hire security above and beyond what a traditional celebrity receives, according to Variety.
So where are the headlines about the story?
Right-leaning outlets like The Daily Mail, The New York Post and Page Six covered the news. Yahoo recycled the Variety scoop and made it the obvious headline.
That’s all, according to a good-faith Google News search.
It’s impossible not to see a connection to the Gadot news and recent media narratives. When pro-Jewish documentaries hit the market, most movie critics avoid them. If Jewish stars get canceled, threatened or worse, most media outlets similarly grow mostly silent.
And, when an A-list actress endures enough death threats to require security forces, the story barely makes a ripple in the news waters.
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