John Cusack’s “Follow the Money” Antisemitism Controversy

On June 17, 2019, John Cusack shared an image depicting a giant hand marked with a Star of David pressing down on a group of people.

The image carried the quotation:

“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.”

The graphic attributed the quotation to Voltaire. It did not originate with Voltaire. The words were derived from a statement associated with American white nationalist and neo-Nazi Kevin Alfred Strom.

Cusack added three words of his own:

“Follow the money.”

He later deleted the post. He first defended it, then blamed a “bot,” then acknowledged that the cartoon deployed anti-Jewish stereotypes. International media covered the episode within hours.

The Image

The visual presented Jewish symbolism as a marker of enormous power. A hand bearing the Star of David towered above ordinary people and forced them downward. The accompanying words described an unnamed group that supposedly ruled society and could not safely be criticized.

Cusack’s caption added money to the equation. The image therefore brought together four themes:

• Jewish identity
• Money
• Control
• Secret power

That combination is not a coincidence of design. It is a compact of antisemitic propaganda, recognizable to anyone who has seen the older posters, pamphlets and internet memes that treat the Star of David as a stamp of domination.

“Follow the Money”

The three-word caption transformed the image from a generic political repost into something more explicit. “Follow the money” appeared directly above a graphic portraying a Star of David-marked force exercising control over ordinary people.

Money and hidden Jewish power have been linked repeatedly in centuries of antisemitic propaganda. The caption made that association central to the post. It was not in the original graphic. It was Cusack’s own line.

That is why the later claim that “a bot got me” did not settle the argument. A bot might surface an image. It does not type a caption that fuses money with Jewish symbolism. Writer Elad Nehorai put the objection in a single sentence, reported by Sky News: how does a bot get you to write “follow the money” after sharing an overtly antisemitic image?

The Neo-Nazi Quote

The quotation inside the graphic was falsely attributed to Voltaire. It was instead derived from a statement associated with Kevin Alfred Strom, an American white nationalist and neo-Nazi. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Strom as the former editor of the National Vanguard and a figure in the National Alliance milieu. Versions of the quotation have circulated widely in white-supremacist and antisemitic online communities.

The result was a celebrity social-media post combining:

• a white-supremacist quotation;
• a Star of David;
• imagery of domination;
• and a reference to money.

Cusack later wrote that he had thought he was endorsing a pro-Palestinian post, and that he associated the blue star with the Israeli flag. He also wrote: “It’s clear that even if it was Israel’s flag & even if you don’t have antisemitic bone in your body, it is still an antisemitic cartoon. Because it deploys anti Jewish stereotypes.”

The Backlash

Jewish writers, journalists and activists quickly identified the imagery as antisemitic. The controversy spread through international media. Reactions focused particularly on the Star of David, the money reference and the suggestion of hidden Jewish control.

Cusack issued a fuller apology the next day. He did not, in the coverage that followed, linger on the caption he had written himself. The image was gone. The record of it was not.

Sources

Jewish Telegraphic AgencyActor John Cusack tweets and then apologizes for anti-Semitic image The GuardianJohn Cusack under fire for antisemitic ‘follow the money’ tweet The Washington PostJohn Cusack apologizes for anti-Semitic tweet — after defending why he posted it CBS News / APJohn Cusack apologizes for retweeting apparent anti-Semitic cartoon Sky NewsJohn Cusack apologises for sharing antisemitic tweet but claims he was victim of bot