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Royal Court loses corporate funders after antisemitism row
Law firms no longer supporting theatre following 'Hershel Fink' incident
December 9, 2021 17:58
Law firms no longer supporting theatre following 'Hershel Fink' incident
December 9, 2021 17:58The London theatre at the centre of an antisemitism row has been dropped by two financial backers.
Law firms Kirkland & Ellis and Weil, Gotshal & Manges have said they will no longer fund the Royal Court Theatre in the fall-out over the use of an antisemitic trope, the BBC has reported.
A spokesperson for Kirkland & Ellis told the BBC: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms any and all forms of racism and discrimination, including antisemitism, and in light of the recent events, we were unable to continue our sponsorship."
Weil, Gotshal & Manges told the broadcaster: "Weil strongly condemns any form of antisemitism or discrimination, whether conscious or unconscious, and we will be withdrawing our support for the Royal Court."
The row began when it emerged that an unscrupulous billionaire character featured in the new play, Rare Earth Mettle, was named “Hershel Fink”.
After critics pointed out the antisemitic connotations of the name, the Royal Court initially denied the protagonist was Jewish.
But theatre bosses later backed down and apologised “unreservedly”.
In a statement, the Royal Court said it would: “reflect on the process that enabled the name to remain and what is missing in our systems that would have mitigated this unnecessary harm”.
Anti-racism consultants employed by the theatre had previously called for a boycott of all Israeli goods, the JC later revealed.
The Royal Court also displayed a map of the Middle East for several years in which Palestine was labelled but Israel was not.
The BBC say they received no response to queries directed to other Royal Court donors, including Aqua Financial Ltd, Cadogan, Colbert, Edwardian Hotels London, Kudos, Sloane Stanley, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Left Bank Pictures.
They are all listed as corporate sponsors or platinum/gold or silver corporate members of the theatre.
The BBC say two other sponsors, Sister and Auriens, declined to comment.
The JC has approached the Royal Court for comment.