Rabat- After allegedly stating that “idiot” Palestinians deserved to die during Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, American comedienne Joan Rivers has backtracked and blamed the media for taking her comment out of context.
Rivers hit the headlines this week when a video appeared online showing her talking about the unprecedented number of non-military citizens killed during the ongoing Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip.
In a clip published on U.S. entertainment website TMZ on Tuesday, Rivers was seen apparently shouting, “You’re dead, you deserve to be dead. You started it. You started it. Don’t you dare make me feel sad about that.”
Rivers continues: “They were told to get out. They didn’t get out. You don’t get out, you are an idiot. At least the ones that were killed were the ones with very low IQs.”
The video went viral on social media, and the iconic comedian has faced heavy criticism. She received enormous backlash online and in the news, and therefore took to Facebook to explain.
"I am both saddened and disappointed that my statement about the tragedy of civilian casualties was totally taken out of context. What I said and stand behind is, war is hell and unfortunately civilians are victims of political conflicts... The media, as usual, has decided to only quote the most out of context and inflammatory non sequitur...” she said. "I am praying for peace. It is stupid and wrong and I am tired of bearing the brunt of attacks by people who want to sell newspapers or gain ratings by creating a scandal about me that is non-existent," she added.
Meanwhile, Rivers’ recent statement received even harsher criticism on Twitter and Facebook. Many Twitter users said that since TMZ is a news organization not necessarily committed to being nurturing or unbiased with its interview subjects, it’s hard to believe that the video’s editing did much to make Rivers seem more hateful.