Star TikTok influencer faces BRUTAL backlash for... eating Israeli food?

"Go hang yourself, Jew."

That’s one anonymous message that the anonymous food influencer with more than 1.3 million followers, ElizabethEatsNYC, received after daring to patronize an Israeli restaurant in New York City and publicize the experience. Video after video attacking Elizabeth for this—apparently egregious—crime racked up millions of views on TikTok, and she has received harassment, threats, and had her identity revealed. (She doesn’t show her face or give her full name in her profile, which is usually more light-hearted, food-focused content.)

This is deranged.

“Eating at an Israeli restaurant right now sends a political message.” That’s what these viral videos from haters, like the one embedded above, are arguing. But it really doesn’t. When I eat Mexican food, I am not endorsing the Mexican government. The same surely goes for Israeli-American restaurants, too.

And, for all these viral loudmouths know, these Israeli-American restaurant owners don’t necessarily support the current Israeli government or the scope of its war in Gaza. Advocating for blanket discrimination against businesses because of their owners’ national origin or ethnicity isn’t “woke” — it’s discrimination.

“She joked about genocide!” Yes, ElizabethEatsNYC made some jokes referencing “bomb shelters” in her original Israeli restaurant visit video. But, as she explained to me in a phone interview, this was actually a reference to the worries about “World War 3” that went viral after America’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, which occurred the day before she posted this video. The joke wasn’t even about Palestinian people, she says.

And even if it was, so what! Dark humour is fine, actually, and jokes are not, in fact, violence. Plus, the Palestinian people are hardly worried about what jokes some influencer made. They have real problems to worry about.

“Food is political!” It’s really not, and y’all need to calm down. If everything is political and everything is an outrage, then nothing is. Going to a restaurant is not a political act or endorsement of any kind — and the people insisting otherwise desperately need to touch grass.

For the full story about this deranged cancel campaign, check out today’s episode of the Brad vs Everyone podcast, my daily show where we take on the craziest ideas from across the internet, our media, and our politics, all from an independent perspective. Watch on YouTube or listen on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.