Trailer For New Seth Rogen Movie ‘Santa Inc’ Trailer Met With Antisemitic Vitriol

HBO Max/YouTube

December 1, 2021, 7:55 am

The trailer for a new Christmas show starring Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman is bringing out the racist trolls.

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Santa Inc. envisions the North Pole as a town like any other, just centered around its resident celebrity, Santa Claus (voiced by Rogen). The plot revolves around an elf named Candy (voiced by Silverman) who wants to take over for the big guy when his time as the hero of Christmas is finally up. 

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There have been plenty of movies about replacing Santa Claus over the years, including fairly irreverent takes. Not, perhaps, quite as irreverent as a Santa series that talks about Mr. Claus’s dick and features multiple scenes of urination in the trailer alone, but still, in theory, this isn’t new ground.

What’s different here is that the show seems to focus on how “the position of Santa has mostly been a white man’s game,” but now a female elf wants to find a way to break into the boy’s club — and that both of the leads are voiced by Jewish actors.

Suddenly, this special is yet another attack on Christmas, with racists claiming the story is anti-white, anti-Christian, and “too woke.”

I saw these comments under @Sethrogen‘s new trailer and just a heads up, antisemites in right-wing rabbit holes use the word elves as code for Jews, so when they say “elves have been knocked off at least 109 shelves” they’re saying “Jews have been kicked out of 109 countries.” pic.twitter.com/QHGP14eb6N

— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) November 30, 2021

The comment section has been disabled after the vitriol, according to the Daily Dot, “clearly [violated] YouTube’s policies prohibiting hate speech.”

But the racism and hate made their way to Twitter as well.

Don’t be sad that it ended, be glad that it happened.

— AdventZoomer (@zoomer_bellator) December 1, 2021

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Horrifying nazi comments from the trailer of Santa Inc. I didn’t didn’t think it was bad it was struggling to wonder why people were so pissy & it’s because it ft two Jewish people making a satire out of a WASP holiday. not even the Christian part of the holiday, just SANTA. pic.twitter.com/g94GoCzdH6

— Lt. Laurdecai (Godzilla Hive) (@punch_it_ensign) November 29, 2021

Not posting screenshots but there is some of the most disgusting antisemitism and Holocaust denial in comments on the trailer for Santa Inc. that I have ever seen. And I cover far-right hate groups.

— Claire Goforth (@claire_goforth) November 29, 2021

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This isn’t just a few antisemitic comments here & there.

It is nothing but, & most w/ thousands of upvotes.

We’re seeing racial divisions in this country bubble over in a way I’ve never seen in my life.

Watch the trailer, read the comments. It’s nuts. https://t.co/upRfXfyS52

— Rosie’s Virus Branding Crisis (@DarnelSugarfoo) November 29, 2021

The Daily Dot also noted that far-right groups have been circulating a list of producers and voice actors for the series with notation for which people are Jewish or Black and support Black Lives Matter, though it’s unclear if the list is being used for anything in particular.

The series — which was not created by Rogen, despite many of the antisemites claiming otherwise — premieres on HBO Max on December 2.

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*First Published: December 1, 2021, 7:55 am