ER star Julianna Margulies apologizes for offending Black, LGBTQIA+ communities

“I am horrified by the fact that statements I made on a recent podcast offended the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities, communities I truly love and respect,” ER actress Julianna Margulies told Deadline on Dec. 1, after provoking some serious outrage.

Many online were outraged by her remarks on the ‘The Back Room with Andy Ostroy’ podcast in the weeks prior. After hearing what she said, British journalist and author Monisha Rajesh tweeted: “It takes skills to pack anti-Blackness, Islamophobia and transphobia so deftly into 90 seconds. Julianna Margulies, take a bow.”

Well, it began when she was sharing her thoughts on one of the most divisive issues, especially on the American left these days — the ongoing conflict in Israel. Let’s get into it and then see what else she has been up to since starring in 'ER.'

One of the main problems critics had with her remarks was her complaint that the Black community did not support Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks. “The J ews were the ones that walked side by side with the Bl acks to fight for their rights,” she said, criticizing what kids are learning in schools.

She continued, saying “The fact that the entire Black community isn’t standing with us, to me, says they are ig… they don’t know, or they’ve been brainwashed to hate J ews.”

Image: juliannamargulies/Instagram via Amy Schumer

Margulies then said that the Jewish people have “never oppressed anyone. “Here’s what kills me: these kids are calling J ews colonialists… if you’re going to go with that argument kids, then get the “eff” out of America because you were not here first. Native Americans were here and you owe them a big “effing” apology. Move “the eff” out,” she said.

Also speaking on her anger for a lack of solidarity with Israel, she slammed the response of the LGBTQ community. “These people who want us to call them they/them, which I have supported… like be whoever you want to be,” she said, are being anti-Semitic.

Margulies added that if they set foot in an Islamic country, they would have their heads chopped off and then the Muslims would play with the heads “like a soccer ball on the field.” She said in those countries, Black people and gay people are even “lower than the Je ws.”

She slammed one “Black lesbian club” at Colombia University for putting up an "anti-Semitic" sign, which she wrongly described. “As someone who plays a lesbian journalist on The Morning Show. I’m more offended by it as a lesbian than as a J ew because I want to say to them you “effing” idiots, you don’t exist [in Islamic countries]."

She also lamented the injustice by saying: “I’m the first person to march [for] Black Lives Matter. When that happened to George Floyd, I put a black screen on my Instagram, like I ran to support my Black brothers and sisters.” She also said she made a commercial supporting same-sex marriage in 2012.

Image: Margulies at SAG actors' strike

Members of the queer, Islamic and Black communities have made her remarks viral on social media, with many calling for her to be fired from ‘The Morning Show.' Others simply slammed her remarks or said its part of a larger pattern. I've heard this same sentiment from supposedly liberal circles. Solidarity w/ Black people is transactional. We are supposed to be grateful charity recipients,” tweeted Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah.

After apologizing for offending the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities (not Muslims), she continued. "Racism, homophobia, sexism, or any prejudice against anyone’s personal beliefs or identity are abhorrent to me, full stop. Throughout my career I have worked tirelessly to combat hate of all kind, end antisemitism, speak out against terrorist groups like Hamas, and forge a united front against discrimination. I did not intend for my words to sow further division."

Julianna Margulies was born in 1966 to a Jewish family in New York. However, in her 2021 memoir ‘Sunshine Girl’ she said she is not religious but teaches Jewish traditions to her son. Throughout her youth, she moved to England and Paris.

She skyrocketed to fame after being cast in the medical drama ‘ER.’ She was cast for the 1994 pilot and was supposed to die in that episode, but test audiences loved her, and she was made a main cast member.

Playing the nurse Carol Hathaway, her character had complex mental health issues but also an eventual relationship with George Clooney’s character, eventually ranked as one of the best TV romances of all time. She won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in 1994 and was nominated for the rest of the six seasons she stayed with the show.

After 2000, NBC offered her $27 million for two more years with ER, which would have made her one of the highest-paid women on TV, but she turned it down. "I felt like I had a great character and I did as much as I could do with her, but I was feeling bored. I wasn't excited about the work and I certainly didn't want to go out with a bomb, but as an inspiration,” she later told TV Guide.

The first decade of the new millennium was marked by many different roles in stage, film and TV. Notably, she appeared on some episodes of ‘Scrubs,’ ‘The Sopranos,’ as well as the films ‘Evelyn and ‘Ghost Ship.’ She did go back to ‘ER’ for one episode in its last season.

In 2007, she married Keith Lieberthal son of the academic Kenneth Lieberthal, an expert on Chinese politics. Their son, Kieran, was born in 2008.

In 2009, she started another legendary role, playing lawyer Alicia Florrick in the legal drama ‘The Good Wife.’ She won two Emmys and a Golden Globe Award for the series, which ended in 2016.

In 2015, she was listed as one of Time magazine’s most influential people. Much of the description had to do with her work fighting for Erin’s Law, a law to require public schools to prevent child abuse. “It’s because of women like Julianna that I know we can and will change the world,” wrote United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

While she starred in the dark comedy ‘Dietland’ in 2018 and the drama ‘Billions’ in 2019, her next biggest role was on the Apple series ‘The Morning Show,’ also starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. As mentioned before, she plays a lesbian news anchor on the show.

The Jewish struggle is close to her heart. In 2023, she helped create the educational program HESP at the Museum of Jewish Heritage as a way to promote holocaust education in schools. She also supports amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research through Project ALS.