There is a saying that you should never meet your heroes. But to be safe, you probably shouldn’t follow them on social networks either.
For myself, as well as for (I assume) the majority of the Jewish community, this was recently proven true by our beloved Fran Drescher.
On November 5, Drescher, the president of SAG-AFTRA, tweeted (and posted to Instagram) a video captioned “@disney withdraws vaccine requirements! Great job Mickey!!!!” In the video, she praised Disney’s decision to no longer require those working on the production teams of 12 different TV shows to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“To think that everyone on the planet can get a vaccine is ridiculous,” Drescher said in the video, explaining that she herself has been vaccinated against COVID. She continued, “And making that vaccine the criteria for who is allowed to work, travel, dine out, go to the movies, etc., is a violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Act, the right to free exercise Religious Movement and Bodily Sovereignty.”
Drescher then concluded his statement by comparing vaccine regulation to fascism and discrimination.
“We, as a nation, must be very careful that fear does not turn into fascism.” Drescher said, adding, “When equal citizens are no longer equal, when cards must be drawn to determine whether you are included or excluded, we are on the cusp of an America that I no longer recognize.”
And finally, “The problem with discrimination is that there will always be good people who justify it because of a harsh situation. But these are extraordinary times when we must fight harder to preserve the sanctity of freedom for all and never succumb to an us-versus-them mentality.”
As an expert in the field of Jewish media, here is my official statement on the matter: Fran, NOOOooOOOOoooOOoOOoOoO!
In all seriousness, this is sad and disappointing. Fran’s excesses, her iconic fashion sense and above all her unapologetic Jewish pride in both “The Nanny” and her public persona were everything to I. She has been everything to me since I first watched an episode of “The Nanny” on Nick at Nite in the early 2010s.
Of course, Fran — and the projects she’s involved in — aren’t perfect. As just one example, “The Nanny” is rife with lucrative criticism. But while fatphobia causes real harm, Fran’s cultivation of anti-vax views to her massive social media following is on another level of danger. According to the World Health Organization, there have been 629,370,889 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally since the start of the pandemic and 6,578,245 people have died as a result. (Those statistics don’t even include the number of people who are suffering long-term health effects from the coronavirus.) Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the best protection anyone can get from getting sick. infection. Not only suggesting that there should be no vaccinations (in my humble opinion, no) but also saying that preventing the spread of a serious disease is fascist and discriminatory? That should convince Fran’s admirers not to get vaccinated. Will they all die? Are not. But will their decisions go beyond themselves, potentially affecting the elderly and immunocompromised? Absolute. What happened to pikuach nefesh, Fran?!?
Also, it’s worth noting that, as a Jew, I am deeply confused by Fran’s decision to support anti-vaxxers, as they insultingly compare vaccine passports to the Holocaust and protesting COVID restrictions by wearing Jewish stars.
I really don’t know what to do with this information. I loved “The Nanny” and I’m sure I’ll keep re-watching it. But I think it’s time to remove Fran Drescher from the pedestal I’ve placed her on. She did a lot of good things on behalf of the Jewish people, but it seemed like nothing was sacred, including Fran.
