Chelsea Handler And Barbra Streisand Slam Spicer’s Holocaust Gaffe

Image by Getty
Sean Spicer is currently being ripped apart for statements he made while comparing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Adolf Hitler.
“You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons,” Spicer said during Tuesday’s press conference.
When reporters reminded him that Hitler did in fact use gas to kill millions during the Holocaust, the press secretary tried to backpedal — and then dug an even deeper hole.
“He was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing,” Spicer said. “He brought them into the Holocaust center, I understand that. But I’m saying in the way Assad used them, where he went into towns, dropped them down to innocent — into the middle of towns. It was brought — the use of it, I appreciate the clarification. That was not the intent.”
Many celebrities are speaking out against Spicer’s comment, dubbing it a “s—t show,” and calling for the press secretary to step down.
Here’s just a few of those reactions.
Is a “holocaust center” a dejewing center? Like when Mike Pence can turn you un-gay? What a shit-show.
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) April 11, 2017
Sean Spicer should be fired for saying Hitler did not use chemical weapons on “his own people.” You mean 6 million Jews don’t count?
— Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) April 11, 2017
This is not a smart man. I hope we can at least all agree on that. https://t.co/vuukdvRm4P
— Zach Braff (@zachbraff) April 11, 2017
Spokesperson for the president of the US must understand the unprecedented atrocity of the Holocaust. His ignorance-unacceptable #FireSpicer https://t.co/y7XSTJDxUa
— Mira Sorvino (@MiraSorvino) April 12, 2017
STATEMENT from Anne Frank Center re: Spicer denying gas use in Holocaust. #FireSpicer. Please use this hashtag. pic.twitter.com/T6oEnkXnU0
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) April 11, 2017
FYI: All Fleetwood Mac shows at the Holocaust Center are SOLD OUT!
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) April 11, 2017
Someone please send Sean Spicer a Holocaust coloring book or some shit. Something more his level and whatnot.
— George Wallace (@MrGeorgeWallace) April 11, 2017
How sad and offensive at the same time when an administration spokesperson doesn’t know facts related to the Holocaust. https://t.co/3n9tyMgXyM
— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) April 11, 2017
“Not even Hitler used chemical weapons” – Sean Spicer, who thinks Zyklon B was aromatherapy.
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) April 11, 2017
Thea Glassman is an Associate Editor at the Forward. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @theakglassman.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion My Jewish moms group ousted me because I work for J Street. Is this what communal life has come to?
- 2
News Student protesters being deported are not ‘martyrs and heroes,’ says former antisemitism envoy
- 3
Fast Forward Suspected arsonist intended to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a sledgehammer, investigators say
- 4
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Dozens of members of UK’s largest Jewish group sign letter condemning war in Gaza
-
Culture Actor Ben Platt says his Jewish identity is ‘not defined’ by Israel, showing a gap between him and his influential family
-
Fast Forward Shapiro house fire suspect targeted Jewish governor over pro-Israel stances, search warrant says
-
Fast Forward Jewish family killed in New York plane crash
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.