Cruel Intentions star Selma Blair has parted ways with her agents at CAA and publicity team, following the fallout caused by an Islamophobic comment she made on social media earlier this month.
The 51-year-old star came under fire after eagle-eyed fans spotted her comment beneath an Instagram video on February 2.
Now sources have confirmed to DailyMail.com that the Legally Blonde star will no longer be represented by Creative Artists Agency, and has also stopped her partnership with the Narrative publicity team.
Changes have also been made to her management and legal representation as Blair is no longer a client of manager Troy Nankin at Wishlab or attorney Cheryl Snow at Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman.
The Hellboy star is now represented by manager Ben Gaynor – who is also a manager at Wishlab – and attorney Joshua Reitzas at Berlandi Nussbaum & Reitzas.
Selma Blair has parted ways with her agents at CAA and publicity team following the fallout caused by an Islamophobic comment she made on Instagram
The February 2 comment called for the deportation of Democratic representatives Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib, deeming them ‘terrorist-supporting goons’ and asserting ‘Islam has destroyed Muslim countries’
The furor began when Blair commented on a video posted by Abraham Hamra, a Syrian, Jewish refugee who called out Squad members Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush for being the sole members of Congress to vote against a measure barring anyone who participated in the October 7 terror attacks from immigration to the US.
In a now-deleted comment, she wrote: ‘Thank you very much. Deport all these terrorist supporting goons. Islam has destroyed Muslim countries and then they come here and destroy minds.
‘They know they are liars. Twisted justifications. May they meet their fate.’
In the video, Hamra calls Tlaib – the only Palestinian-American member of Congress – a ‘liar,’ ‘moron,’ and ‘hateful antisemite.’
‘The truth,’ Hamra says, ‘is the Jews have been victimized by the Arabs, and not the other way around.’
Tlaib defended her ‘no’ vote by saying it is ‘redundant with already existing federal law.’
‘It’s just another GOP messaging bill being used to incite anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim hatred that makes communities like ours unsafe,’ she said.
Days late, Blair issued an apology after the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, condemned her statement.
The Legally Blonde actress, 51, claimed she ‘mistakenly and inadvertently conflated Muslims with Radical Islamists and fundamentalists’
In a lengthy apology post, Blair attempted to reaffirm her support of ‘all marginalized communities’
Blair claimed that she ‘inadvertently conflated Muslims with fundamentalists’ as she wrote: ‘This is a time of great pain and anguish for many around the world, but it is also a time to learn and better understand how words matter.
‘In my comment, I mistakenly and inadvertently conflated Muslims with Radical Islamists and fundamentalists, a terrible err in my words, and resulted in hurting countless people I never meant to, and I deeply regret this.’
She highlighted the fact that she swiftly deleted the comment as she continued: ‘I erred in my writing and I fully recognize how I contributed to the Muslim community being understandably very upset. I respect and love all peace-loving communities, all over the world.
‘It was my Muslim friends who helped educate and show me the way. I am committed to paying forward their love and understanding. We cannot allow ignorance and rage to becomes (sic) our downfall.’
Blair ended the apology by reaffirming her support for marginalized communities and promising to ‘do better.’
Meanwhile, Blair was also blasted by a disability advocate who claimed the actress hung up the phone when she tried to confront her about her hateful post.
Maria Town, who is President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, took to Instagram to share her scathing comments.
She said that she had clashed with The Sweetest Thing star, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018, in a conversation that ‘did not go well’ despite having worked together previously.
Many social media users remarked that the statement seemed disingenuous and the star also criticized for posts she’d liked on X, formerly Twitter
Some critics pointed out that the apology failed to address her comments about Tlaib (left) and Bush (right)
She wrote: ‘I have read Selma Blair’s Islamophobic, racist, and hateful comments. Her comments are harmful and wrong.
‘Since she is someone I have worked with, I wanted to speak to her and call her in before sharing my thoughts publicly.
‘I reached out multiple times to her manager and to her to talk. I was finally able to speak with her today.’
Town, who is from Louisiana, continued: ‘The conversation did not go well.
‘She first acted as though she did not know what I meant and asked what I was talking about when I shared I was alarmed by her recent posts.
‘I referenced her posts, and directly repeated her words. I said, you can publicly disagree with people, including members of Congress, without being racist or wishing them harm.
‘The conversation ended with her telling me, “Maria, I wish you would think for yourself for once,” and she hung up on me.
‘As she has shared in the apology she posted recently, she told me that she meant to say “Islamiscists” and not “Islam.”
‘I responded that this change did not make her comments any less Islamophobic or racist. The conversation devolved from there.’
The post continued: ‘If she hadn’t hung up, I would have told her that you can support Jewish people without being Islamophobic.
‘In fact, you can support Jewish people and Muslim people at the same time.
‘Islamophobia, xenophobia, and racism have no place anywhere, especially not within movements for rights and justice or in efforts for inclusion.
Blair was also blasted by a disability advocate claimed the actress hung up the phone when she tried to confront her about her ‘hateful’ Islamophobic post
Maria Town, who is President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, took to Instagram to share her scathing comments following the pair’s interaction
Maria, who previously worked as Senior Associate Director in the Obama White House Office of Public Engagement, shared a series of slides to divulge details of the apparent exchange
‘Racist, nationalist systems create a false choice: the idea that another group’s presence is a threat to your own security and safety.
‘Using fear to justify further harm to people is no justification at all. Using fear for your own safety to justify islamophobia and racism does not make anyone safer or more secure. It only creates more fear.’
Town had even more to say as she concluded: ‘When people with high visibility and an ability to influence culture repeat Islamophobic and racist ideas, these systems become further cemented in our policy, in our society, in our minds.
‘When people like me, and by that I mean specifically white people who are raised or accultured within a Christina community, do not denounce Islamophobia and associated racism and hate, because we “don’t know enough” or “that’s not our issue,” we allow this hate to perpetuate and grow.
‘When people like me – those who have proximity to people like Selma Blair – do not call out hatred when we see it, whether in one on one conversations, public forums etc, we perpetuate harm.
‘Despite Selma’s assessment of me, I do think for myself, and I know that his kind of hate is never acceptable.’
In the wake of the uproar caused by her comment, Blair was also criticized for posts she’d liked on X, formerly Twitter.
These included vague statements denouncing ‘Antifa’ and ‘the woke agenda,’ as well as a viral conspiracy theory linking an early version of the new Minnesota state flag to Somalia.
‘Armed citizens don’t need legislation to defend themselves or their state/country. It’s our God-given right to do so,’ read one liked comment.
Other social media users pointed out that she’d liked other anti-Muslim comments including one calling Islam ‘the religion of evil, created in hell’ and another deeming it ‘a hatefull (sic) and violent sect.’
Blair’s account on the platform has since been deleted.
Rates of Islamophobia and antisemitism have skyrocketed in the United States since October 7, when Hamas militants flooded from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing civilians and taking hostages.
The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. increased by 388 percent in the four weeks after October 7, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Likewise, CAIR reported that the number of Islamophobic incidents in the U.S. increased by 216 percent during the same period.
