U.K. police say reviewing video of Helen Mirren facing ‘antisemitic’ abuse

Helen Mirren is the newest L'Oréal Paris spokesmodel. (AFP PHOTO/ANDREW COWIE)

U.K. police said Friday officers were trying to contact Oscar-winning actor Helen Mirren and “reviewing” video footage which shows her “being subjected to antisemitic verbal abuse”.

Footage of the incident, which London’s Metropolitan Police said it believed occurred last year in the British capital, has been circulating online.

It shows Mirren and her husband being approached by someone recording with a camera, who then calls her an “evil Zionist” followed by an expletive, alleging she “was very happy that Palestinians’ houses were gone”.

“We are aware of a video circulating online, showing a man and a woman being subjected to antisemitic verbal abuse,” a police spokesperson said.

“Officers are currently reviewing the footage and making attempts to contact the victims to establish whether they would like to report the incident.”

The force noted it had made more than 90 hate crime arrests since the end of March, amid a spike in antisemitic incidents in Britain in recent years amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism group condemned the “appalling” abuse Mirren faced, branding the perpetrator a “pro-Palestine thug”.