A Jewish comedian from Brooklyn found himself at the center of an international uproar after a video circulated that falsely showed him proclaiming, “I support Israel,” leading to a supposed mass exit from a comedy club in Chicago. However, this dramatic scene never actually occurred.
Comedian Menachem Silverstein, who is currently facing significant backlash, along with a producer for the show, clarified to The Post that he never made the statement and there was no walkout in response to it. In fact, Silverstein wasn’t even present at the event last week.
At the time when the controversial clip was being shared widely, Silverstein, aged 31, was offline observing Rosh Hashanah in Los Angeles. “I turned my phone on after Rosh Hashanah, and I had over 40 messages from people being like, ‘What the hell is this? Is this you? What’s happening?’” he recounted, adding that he is a father of two with another child on the way.
The misleading footage was taken at the Laugh Factory in Chicago and shows an audience leaving abruptly while a comic is still on-stage.
The performer in question was actually Kieron Harrell, who was doing an act as part of a prank show called “What Could Go Wrong?” at the venue.
Harrell’s producer told The Post that he never made the alleged comment about supporting Israel and emphasized that they have the full footage that contradicts the claims. There was simply no mass walkout driven by offense.
As part of the prank, Harrell was blindfolded and donned headphones while the audience was strategically ushered out. When he removed his blindfold, he found himself performing to an empty room, creating the illusion that the audience left due to an offensive remark about Israel.
“There isn’t a single element that was true,” Silverstein commented on the situation. “I wasn’t there. The comedian didn’t say anything about Israel. The audience didn’t walk out because they were offended. The entire thing is fake.”
Silverstein believes that Al Jazeera English was the first to incorrectly identify him as the performer in the clip, claiming he made the comment and that the audience departed. Although this story was later retracted, other Arabic-language articles still referenced him over the weekend.
One article even included a different joke from Silverstein: “My name is Menachem Silverstein. I stand with Israel. Not politically, they’re just the only people who can pronounce my name.”
Meanwhile, an account on X named “Truthseeker” shared videos from the segment, incorrectly tagging Silverstein as the performer and claiming he declared, “My name is Menachem, and I support Israel.”
This particular post garnered over 2 million views, with similar claims spreading across X, Instagram, and Facebook.
Dan Kass, the producer of the prank show, explained to The Post that the walkout was part of the planned blindfold bit and that the show’s multiple cameras recorded everything. An audience member filmed the departure and shared it without the producers’ knowledge.
“We have all the footage. Nothing was ever mentioned about Israel,” Kass insisted. “I was in shock that I had to explain to people, ‘No, I run this show. I was there. This was not the case.’”
Silverstein revealed that he hadn’t been to the Chicago Laugh Factory since May, and expressed disbelief upon viewing the viral clip featuring someone else on stage. “It was just bizarre. It literally had nothing to do with me,” he noted.
Various international outlets, including India’s The Print and Iran’s Press TV, also misreported this false account as it continued to circulate online.
Then, Alex Jones joined the fray. “This is a comedian, Mr. Silverstein, Menachem Silverstein, says, ‘I support Israel,’ and literally 99% of people get up in a full house and leave instantly,” the notorious conspiracy theorist said while discussing the misleading clip.
Silverstein lamented that AI-driven tools exacerbated the problem. When someone queried Grok for the comedian’s identity, it inaccurately named him and even quoted his old joke about Israel as the alleged comment that prompted the walkout.
Consequently, Silverstein’s social media flooded with hateful messages. “’Free Palestine,’ ‘F–k you Jew’ — every kind of ridiculous DM,” he reported, feeling overwhelmed.
As a Crown Heights native who has been in the stand-up scene for nine years, he now grapples with the potential long-term impacts on his career. He had been planning to discuss his next comedy tour with clubs, but now he worries about how bookers will perceive him after searching his name—especially with stories claiming he “walked a crowd.”
“I’m not going to be reaching out to any clubs until I either get this fully sorted or have enough positive press to explain why that would even come up,” he explained.
Ironically, this bizarre saga culminated in a strange punchline: Silverstein had spent Rosh Hashanah praying for a boost in his career. “I’ve spent eight years trying to go viral,” he humorously remarked. “Apparently, the secret was not showing up.”
However, he emphasized that the situation is no laughing matter. “It started off with people demonizing Israel and demonizing Zionism. Now it seems like it can be used to demonize any Jew whatsoever for a potential association with Israel, without even any sort of proof,” he expressed.
Neither Al Jazeera nor Alex Jones provided comments in response to inquiries from The Post.
