Kosha Dillz gets canceled and the media mostly yawns. Here's why that's not surprising and how it speaks to a greater hypocrisy.
by Christian Toto
Antisemitism keeps rearing its ugly head in the arts.
And, sadly, many Legacy Media outlets can’t be bothered to notice.
Among the Jewish artists who have found their events canceled in recent months include Michael Rapaport, Matisyahu and Brett Gelman.
The media mostly looked the other way each time, with only a few exceptions. Imagine a black artist being canceled due to his skin color or place of origin.
What kind of news coverage might that spark?
Jewish news organizations covered the cancellations extensively, and understandably so.
Yet at a time when sites like IndieWire and The Hollywood Reporter are warning of a Trumpian crackdown on the arts, they’re often silent during actual artistic crackdowns.
THR made an exception for Kosha Dillz. The Israeli-American rapper planned to show rough footage from his upcoming documentary, “Bring the Family Home,” at Facets, a Chicago-based theater. The film follows the rise of antisemitism on college campuses following the Oct. 7 attacks.
Dillz planned to host the screening with a DePaul University student who says he’s endured severe antisemitic harassment at his college.
Facets spiked the screening hours before showtime. THR has more details about the cancellation.
Dillz said he even offered to have the theater show the film without any promotion on the marquee or website to avoid drawing attention to it, but Facets leadership declined.
The club’s reasoning for the cancellation is almost laughably predictable.
“Based on the public posts made by Kosha Dillz and the overall tone surrounding the event, we determined that proceeding would not align with our values or our responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of our community,” Facets said, without elaborating on what they were referring to. “We reject antisemitism in all forms — just as we reject Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, and any form of hate or dehumanization.”
The ownership of Facets later had a change of heart. THR suggests “press coverage” played a role in its decision, but the cancellation drew little media noise.
If entertainment news outlets cared about free speech in the arts they’d give events like this far more coverage.
