Violet Affleck was targeted by a pro-Israel account for wearing a sweatshirt bearing an image of a watermelon.
Affleck, the 18-year-old daughter of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, was photographed with her mother wearing a black sweatshirt emblazoned with a watermelon.
The verified X account @StopAntisemitism posted the photos on Wednesday night and claimed that the watermelon “erases the entire country of Israel.”
The watermelon has become a symbol of Palestinian support and resistance during the Israeli conflict with Hamas, though its roots go back much further in Palestine’s history.
The sweatshirt is by Wear the Peace, to which the StopAntisemitism account helpfully directed people in another tweet.
Wear the Peace, founded in 2016 by Murad Nofal and Mustafa Mabruk, debuted the sweatshirt in November and vowed to donate 100% of the proceeds to Gaza. The company also donates a new piece of clothing to those in need for every purchase.
Conservatives quickly jumped on the tweet, calling Affleck an antisemite and nepo baby and making fun of the fact that she’s wearing a mask. But others called out the account for targeting a teenager and spreading misinformation.
“Before Israel was founded on top of Palestine,” said @edwardmliger on TikTok, “there was just Palestine. You’re not an antisemite for acknowledging that or wearing a shirt that has Palestine on it.”
@wearthepeaceco If you didn’t hear, our watermelon design really ticked people off the past 2 days after it appeared on paparazzi news. They’re mad about a fruit but not 30,000 people humans dead in Gaza. This is an accomplishment for us so we had to make a plaque 😂
♬ original sound – Wear The Peace
Wear the Peace saw some harassment after the tweet circulated, too. It made a collage of some of the comments and labeled it “The Day We Pissed Off Thousand of Zionists.” We reached out to Wear the Peace for comment.
