Playboy, the iconic adult entertainment brand, has officially ended its partnership with influencer and content creator Mia Khalifa.
The decision comes after Khalifa openly supported Hamas following their unexpected assault on Israel and further advised them to document their attacks.
Tensions between Israel and Palestine have been ongoing for over 70 years ever since the Nakba took place in 1948, displacing over 700,000 Palestinians who were native to the land. However, things have recently reached a boiling point over the past few weeks, with Hamas launching a series of attacks on outside of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, in the biggest escalation in the region in decades, per BBC News.
In response, Israel launched "retaliatory strikes" in the area after the Prime Minister of Israel said that the state is now at war with Hamas while vowing to inflict an "unprecedented price."
CBS News reports that the death toll in the Hamas-Israel war has now topped 1,500 in the last few days, with thousands more wounded.
During the ongoing deadly conflict, Khalifa has been vocal on social media in sharing her support for Hamas - a decision that led to backlash from a huge portion of social media users based on the divisive nature of the war.
One of her tweets read: "If you can look at the situation in Palestine and not be on the side of Palestinians, then you are on the wrong side of apartheid, and history will show that in Time.” Another tweet, referring to an image of Hamas militants, was labeled as a "Renaissance painting" by Khalifa.
Per the New York Post, the controversy didn't stop there, as Khalifa also quipped: "Can someone please tell the freedom fighters in Palestine to flip their phones and film horizontal."
Her outspoken nature extended to pop culture figures too, as she took a jab at Kylie Jenner for her (now removed) pro-Israel post, saying: "If true journalism exists, the next person to talk to Kylie Jenner will ask for her opinion on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and not break eye contact until she can string one coherent sentence together."
Now, as a result of these posts, TMZ has reported that in an email communication shared with subscribers late Monday, the Playboy team expressed their stance, writing: "We are writing today to let you know of our decision to terminate Playboy’s relationship with Mia Khalifa, including deleting Mia’s Playboy channel on our creator platform."
The email didn't hold back its sentiments, stating: "Mia has made disgusting and reprehensible comments celebrating Hamas’ attacks on Israel and the murder of innocent men, women, and children."
The brand was quick to emphasize its values, adding: "At Playboy, we encourage free expression and constructive political debate, but we have a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech." Playboy's action further underlines the weight of responsibility that comes with freedom of speech, suggesting to Khalifa that "her words have actions and consequences."
Attempting to visit Khalifa’s channel on Playboy's Centerfold platform now leads to a "Not Found" graphic, underlining the company's decisive stance on the matter.
Somewhat ironically, when Khalifa was inducted into the Centerfold platform in February 2022, Playboy lauded her bold nature. Ben Kohn, PLBY Group CEO, once commented: "Mia’s fearless, direct, thought-provoking, and fun-loving approach to life and her career make her an important addition to our Centerfold community."
He further added: "Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of our Playboy legacy, and our Centerfold is all about empowering creators like Mia to express themselves in a safe, accepting environment."