Star animation anchor Tara Strong fired after Israel-Hamas posts
The upcoming animated series Boxtown has confirmed that star voice actress Tara Strong has been fired over her recent posts and comments about Israel and Palestine.
Boxtown and Bandit Mill Animation said in a statement Tuesday night that Strong, whose voice became famous Teen Titans, Rugrats, The Powerpuff GirlsAnd Ben 10, was removed due to a “trend in Tara’s recent online activity, including posts spreading controversial messages about the peoples of Palestine currently affected by the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian crisis.”
Last week, Boxtown had posted that it was a recasting of the role of Bill the Orphan, the Strong Voices character, but gave no details. Strong Posted Afterwards, she said she found out the news online. “Dismissed for being Jewish,” she wrote. “Please lose my email address and pray for my family in Israel and Gaza.”
As the crisis began to unfold on October 7, Strong He reportedly liked a tweet which equated all Muslims with Hamas and ISIS, while she reportedly claimed in another post wrote“They were smart to start with a country that people love to hate.” Stark later claims “She liked it when I saw ISIS=HAMAS,” but “I actually didn’t read the whole tweet, which is HORRIBLE and unlikable, as FAST as I realized.” She added, “I love everyone… except terrorists. The internet is SO quick to categorize people and make judgments. I’m still here to help everyone, and I mean it.”
In his statement Boxtown didn’t seem convinced. “We believe our public platform requires us to be cautious when it comes to hateful messages and misinformation online. This also applies to our cast and crew. It wasn’t a difficult decision.”
Further information on the new version will be announced in the coming weeks, it said.
“Our thoughts are with the Palestinian and Israeli children and families affected by the ongoing conflict. People should be able to live freely without being threatened by constant abuse and terror. We hope for the best,” the show’s statement continued.
