Countless fans gushed over Israel Broussard over the weekend after watching him portray Josh Sanderson in Netflix's newest rom-com, To All The Boys I've Loved Before. But, for some, the actor's charm has quickly faded after internet sleuths resurfaced a handful of his past unsavoury tweets promoting racist and homophobic rhetoric and seemingly supporting dangerous conspiracy theories pushed by far-right figures. Broussard has since deleted some of his controversial tweets.
"Black Lives Matter has one goal. Division," he wrote in one tweet. Another read: "hashtags don't fucking matter. but all lives do. black lives matter. white lives matter. police lives matter."
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Josh aka Israel Broussard from to all the boys i’ve loved before ....is already cancelled pic.twitter.com/R9sLbKBxg1
— tyler ? (@hoIlandstoms) August 19, 2018
In another screen shot, Broussard appears to have "liked" a tweet 2015 tweet alleging that the Sandy Hook shooting, in which 20 children and six adults died, was staged.
support of trump and the republican party and liked this about the sandy hook shooting. he doesn't reply to people on twitter but if he sees this, i hope his views have changed and that he's been educated on how horrible trump is and why black lives matter. @israelbroussard pic.twitter.com/i4h5K3iqKz
— kai?||tatbilb spoilers, met tom x 5 (@marvelusholland) August 18, 2018
he also tweeted this super offensive tweet about asian people in 2011 TWO days after the earthquake. the tweet has been deleted but there's been no apology. link to the archived tweet: https://t.co/tpWZfc9HSn pic.twitter.com/Qjj7qaD2vD
— kai?||tatbilb spoilers, met tom x 5 (@marvelusholland) August 20, 2018
Reminder: Israel Broussard is trash and we're not going to Stan him. pic.twitter.com/lExc3JMexu
— Farheen (@RossAndLaura_) August 19, 2018
Fans are clearly disappointed in Broussard's social media history and have called for him to be "cancelled" among other things. Some have been a little more lenient, hoping that he's learned from this experience and has had a change of heart on major cultural issues, such as BLM and the treatment of hundreds of migrant children who were separated from their families at the border. Representation for Broussard did not immediately respond to Refinery29's request for comment.
"it’s not a surprise that a white male american guy with money would be problematic but i have to say...israel broussard liking tweets about how sandy hook was fake has really thrown me," one person tweeted.
Another wrote, "Being a racist,sexist, Trump supporter shows no love at all. Disgusting. I will definitely not be watching the netflix film or any film starring you any time soon. I hope you really,truly see how wrong you were but I won't hold my breath yet."
Broussard released a statement via Twitter Tuesday night apologising to fans for his past actions.
"I am deeply sorry for my inappropriate and insensitive words and likes on social media," the 24-year-old actor wrote. "i take full responsibility for my actions and i sincerely apologize. this has been a pivotal life lesson for me. i am dedicated to becoming a more informed and educated version of myself."
— Israel Broussard (@israelbroussard) August 22, 2018
Viewers made it clear that regardless of how much they stan an actor's character, they will no longer tolerate hateful commentary and won't support certain projects as a result. Words matter, and fans are increasingly holding Hollywood accountable.
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