Brett Gelman welcomes Television Academy members to The Biggest Laugh: The Journey from Stand-Up to Screen, a live event presented in 2022 at the Wolf Theatre in the Saban Media Center in Los Angeles. Danny Moloshok/Associated Press, file
A West Hollywood bookstore is canceling an event with “Stranger Things” actor Brett Gelman, citing safety concerns that Gelman says are more about protecting the shop’s reputation than anything else.
Gelman, who has been an outspoken supporter of Israel during its war on Hamas, is on a national tour to promote his upcoming collection titled “The Terrifying Realm of the Possible: Nearly True Stories,” set to be released later this month.
The 47-year-old Jewish actor has ardently defended Israel on his social media accounts and spoke at a November “March for Israel” rally in Washington, D.C., according to The Los Angeles Times.
His celebrity has drawn the attention of pro-Palestinian protestors, prompting multiple cancellations for his tour.
The Book Stall in Winnetka, Illinois, and Book Passage in San Francisco both canceled Gelman’s signing events before Book Soup in Los Angeles made the decision earlier this week.
The store claimed that escalating threats they received “became a safety risk we were not willing to take,” according to a statement released Thursday.
But Gelman argues that the cancellations on his tour are “the screams of bullies,” he told Los Angeles Magazine.
“Maybe they’re worried that a gang is going to, you know, march outside and maybe throw a trash can through the window, but I had said that was not going to happen,” he was quoted as saying. “I was going to provide enough security to make sure that wasn’t going to happen.”
He added that the cancellations have been “traumatic” for him and said, “I never thought that I would be discriminated against in such an aggressive way because of the fact that I’m Jewish.”
Gelman’s next stop on his tour is the Marlene Meyerson JCC in Manhattan on March 18, which is still scheduled as of now.
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