Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef, dubbed the “Jon Stewart of the Middle East,” said this week that he believes he lost a role in James Gunn‘s and DC Studios’ “Superman: Legacy” for criticizing the Israeli government. But a source close to the production tells IndieWire that Youssef was never formally offered the role, and the character in question was cut from the script prior to his initial comments criticizing Israel. Gunn, who is prepping “Superman: Legacy” in Atlanta, agreed with the source’s version of events on Twitter/X.
Back in October, Youssef went viral for remarks he made during an interview with Piers Morgan.
“They said Israel is the only military force in the world that warns civilians before bombing them,” Youssef 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?”
Speaking to Salon on Thursday, Youssef said he believes that remark got him fired from “Superman: Legacy,” even if he was told the official reason was due to a script change.
“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,” Youssef said.
Youssef said he wants to “assume good faith,” but that he also recognizes the emotional connection people have with Israel. He also said he would understand that if he was an Arab Muslim running Warner Bros. Discovery, he wouldn’t want to have a “pro-Zionist or a pro-Israel (actor) to be in my movie if he attacked my people” either.
“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. I understand,” Youssef said.
But the source close to the production disputed that timeline. The “Superman: Legacy” script was changed to remove the character Youssef was meant to play prior to the Morgan interview and prior to October 7 Hamas attacks, with a new draft submitted shortly after the writers strike ended on September 27. But because the actors strike didn’t end until much later, on November 9, the studio was not able to communicate with Youssef about the change.
The source adds that Youssef submitted a tape for the role, and confirmed Gunn met with him, but a formal offer for him to star in “Superman: Legacy” was never made, and the part simply didn’t work out.
Comments about Israel and Palestine have been a major point of contention across Hollywood since the October 7 attacks. Actress Melissa Barrera was let go from the “Scream” franchise back in November for her remarks on social media. She says the dismissal was simply because she dared to defend Palestine (Barrera also appeared at a pro-Palestinian rally at Sundance), but the studio behind the film said it was due to “antisemitism” within her remarks. A veteran agent at CAA, Maha Dakhil, also stepped away from her leadership duties after she criticized Israel on social media.
