INGLEWOOD, CALIF. — Nev Schulman made a fashion statement and a political statement at the VMAs on Sunday.
Days after Billy Joel donned a yellow Star of David badge during a concert, the “Catfish” host, 32, followed suit, adding a heart next to the symbol that was used to identify Jewish people in Nazi-occupied parts of Europe during World War II.
“Since the unbelievable display of anti-Semitism and also with the white supremacy in Charlottesville, there’s been an alarming rise of anti-Semitism across the country in the last few weeks,” he told Page Six about why he chose to wear the star in this way. “People who somehow now think it’s OK to vandalize synagogues or in Boston, someone smashed the Holocaust memorial. It’s scary because we can’t live in a country that allows for this hatred to be displayed on a regular basis without some kind of show on the other side.”
Schulman continued, “It’s one thing to condemn the actions, but I think it’s important that we all visibly show like, ‘Hey, you might think it’s OK to speak negatively or to have hate towards one group, but you know people in that group, and even though you don’t realize it, we feel that.'”
Laura Perlongo, who Schulman married in the Hamptons last month, donned a heart badge on the strap of her white crop top.
“If the only thing young people see is anti-Semitism and nothing, then anti-Semitism seems like this big OK thing, when in reality, that’s a very small, vocal minority. We need to become the vocal majority and say, ‘No, that’s not OK.’ There are plenty of Jewish people that are out there and it’s about love. We need to display that,” she said.
Schulman’s “Catfish” co-star Max Joseph, who is also Jewish, wore a T-shirt with the word “Jew” on it to the VMAs.