Van Jones Under Fire for “Insensitive and Hurtful “Dead Gaza Baby” Comments on Real Time with Bill Maher
Written by b87fm on 10/06/2025
CNN political commentator Van Jones is facing intense backlash after making controversial remarks about Gaza during a recent appearance on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.
While discussing the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Jones claimed that young people “open up your phone, and all you see is dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby.” He went on to suggest that some of those viral images are part of a “massive disinformation campaign” led by Iran and Qatar.
The comment immediately sparked outrage online. Critics accused Jones of being insensitive — and of downplaying the real suffering of Palestinians.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen slammed the statement as “Netanyahu propaganda,” saying Jones was treating real civilian deaths, including those of children, as “Iranian fake news.”
Muslim American scholar Omar Suleiman called the comment “truly disgraceful and vile,” adding:
“I’m sorry dead Gaza babies bother you so much. Maybe tell the people paying you to put lipstick on a genocide to stop killing them.”
NBC correspondent Hala Gorani also weighed in, writing, “I’ve watched hundreds of hours of Gaza videos … and can confirm that the ‘dead Gaza baby’ images are quite real. There is nothing funny about them.”
Jones Apologizes: “It Was Insensitive and Hurtful”
After the wave of backlash, Jones took to social media to issue a public apology.
“I made a comment … that was insensitive and hurtful. I apologize,” he wrote. “The suffering of the people of Gaza — especially the children — is not a punch line.”
He tried to clarify that his intent was to highlight how online disinformation can distort public perception during war — not to make light of the humanitarian crisis.
“What I said was easily misunderstood, and the way I said it was flat-out insensitive,” Jones added.
Still, many observers say the damage is done. Some critics argue his remarks feed into a broader narrative that minimizes Palestinian casualties or paints them as exaggerated.
Media analysts note that while disinformation is indeed a real issue in modern conflicts, conflating it with genuine footage of civilian suffering risks erasing the human cost of war.
As one social media user put it:
“Turning ‘dead Gaza baby’ into a punch line is such an evil choice … it’s not about propaganda — it’s about people.”
