Mia Khalifa fired by broadcaster after posting about the Israel-Hamas conflict

A Canadian broadcaster has fired one of the world’s most famous former porn stars, Mia Khalifa, after she posted on social media about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The ex-adult film star, who is now a content creator, posted on X/Twitter in support of Palestine. Hours later, Khalifa had her contract at Red Light Holland, an entertainment company, terminated.

She said in one post: “Can someone please tell the freedom fighters in Palestine to flip their phones and film horizontal.”

Khalifa followed the post with several retweets of messages supporting Palestinian people, including one which said that “Hamas ≠ [is not equal to] Palestine” and “Jewish people ≠ Israeli government”.

She later tweeted: “I just want to make it clear that this statement in no way shape or form is enticing spread of violence, I specifically said freedom fighters because that's what the Palestinian citizens are… fighting for freedom every day.”

Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Saturday morning, first launching rockets across the border before attacking both civilians and military targets in the south of the country. More than 100 people, including civilians, have been taken hostage by the group.

Israel responded with airstrikes on Gaza and has declared a “complete siege” on the enclave.

The Israeli government has cut off water, food and power supplies to more than two million civilians living in the region.

At least 900 people have reportedly been killed in Israel, while more than 650 have died in Gaza since the conflict began.

Todd Shapiro, chief executive of the entertainment company Red Light Holland, which employed Khalifa on a podcast deal, posted in response that she was fired.

“This is such a horrendous tweet @miakhalifa. Consider yourself fired effective immediately.

“Simply disgusting. Beyond disgusting. Please evolve and become a better human being.

“The fact you are condoning death, rape, beatings and hostage taking is truly gross. No words can explain your ignorance.

“We need humans to come together, especially in the face of tragedy. I pray for you to become a better person. However, it clearly seems like it’s too late for you.”

Khalifa responded: “I’d say supporting Palestine has lost me business opportunities, but I’m more angry at myself for not checking whether or not I was entering into business with Zionists. My bad.”

Playboy has also cut ties with Khalifa following her messages. Khalifa had been creating content for their Centrefold platform since 2022.

The brand released a statement saying: “We are writing today to let you know of our decision to terminate Playboy's relationship with Mia Khalifa, including deleting Mia's Playboy channel on our creator platform.

“Mia has made disgusting and reprehensible comments celebrating Hamas' attacks on Israel and the murder of innocent men, women, and children.

“At Playboy, we encourage free expression and constructive political debate, but we have a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech. We expect Mia to understand her words and actions have consequences.”

The series of events is perhaps emblematic of how the influence of social media can result in sentiments about complex, sensitive topics turning into polarising black-and-white arguments.

The trend has spilled out into real life in the UK, with British Jews bracing themselves for the possibility of antisemitic hate crimes from pro-Palestine protesters.

Already, hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters marched through Manchester on Sunday, saying they were “full of joy” at the attacks on Israel.

Khalifa followed up by saying: “I just want to make it clear that this statement in no way shape or form is enticing the spread of violence, I specifically said freedom fighters because that’s what the Palestinian citizens are fighting... for freedom every day.”

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