Mia Khalifa Is Not Backing Down

Mia Khalifa has maintained a social media silence in the days since her posts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict saw her face backlash—but she's still quietly making her feelings on the matter known.

Former adult film entertainer Khalifa, 30, lost at least two business deals after voicing her support for what she described as Palestinian "freedom fighters," in the wake of surprise attacks on Israelis by militant group Hamas on October 7.

Militants fighting for Hamas stormed into Israel, killing more than 1,200, according to figures from the Israeli military. Hamas said the attack was retribution for worsening conditions for Palestinians under Israeli occupation.

After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently declared, "We are at war," Israel has carried out attacks against Hamas, launching "Operation Swords of Iron." Israel has been pummeling the sealed-off and densely populated Gaza Strip with airstrikes. Israel has also stopped entry of food, fuel and medicine into Gaza, worsening the humanitarian conditions in the tiny territory of 2.3 million people.

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed organization that the U.S. considers a terrorist group alongside Hamas, on October 8 launched a barrage of mortar shells into Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) fired artillery into Lebanon.

Since the backlash over her pro-Palestinian posts, Khalifa has laid relatively low across her social media accounts over the past several days, not sharing any new posts on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram or TikTok.

However, she has continued to make her feelings known through liking a plethora of X posts that have criticized the Israeli government and supported Palestinian people.

One such post read: "The countries that label Hamas as a terrorist group are

- the USA ( born from a genocide on Natives, bombed millions of innocents)
- the UK (the Big Daddy of Colonial Evil)
- Australia ( massacred the indigenous population to exist)
- Japan (genocidal history)
- Israel ( ...)"

A number of more recent posts that caught Khalifa's eye regarded the Tuesday evening strike on a Gaza Strip hospital thought to have killed hundreds. Palestinian and Israeli officials continue to blame each other for the incident that has set back President Joe Biden's planned Middle East diplomatic campaign.

Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday morning amid the fallout of the explosion at the al-Ahli Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that some 500 people—many of them displaced under an Israeli evacuation order—were killed in the explosion.

Palestinian militants and officials said the cause was an Israeli airstrike, while Israel Defense Forces personnel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed an errant rocket fired from Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.

Social Media Backlash

Following Hamas' attack on Israel, Khalifa shared a post on X, in which she addressed the footage that was coming out of the region.

"Can someone please tell the freedom fighters in Palestine to flip their phones and film horizontal," she wrote on the platform on October 7.

Following days of criticism over her post, Khalifa sought to clarify her comment in a follow-up statement on October 9.

"I just want to make it clear that this statement in no way shape or form is [inciting] spread of violence," she said in a since-deleted post. "I specifically said freedom fighters because that's what the Palestinian citizens are... fighting for freedom every day."

Severing Ties

Playboy was one of two companies that quickly severed ties with the star; visitors to her page on the brand's Centerfold platform are now met with a "not found" notification. Playboy announced the end of its relationship with Khalifa in an email to subscribers. It also shared with Newsweek a termination letter sent to Khalifa.

Lebanese-born Khalifa's original message on October 7 also led to her public firing from her role as an adviser at Red Light Holland, which produces and distributes magic mushrooms.

Red Light Holland CEO Todd Shapiro wrote on X: "This is such a horrendous tweet @miakhalifa. Consider yourself fired effective immediately. Simply disgusting. Beyond disgusting. Please evolve and become a better human being."

"The fact you are condoning death, rape, beatings and hostage taking is truly gross," Shapiro went on. "No words can explain your ignorance. We need humans to come together, especially in the face of tragedy. I pray for you to become a better person. However, it clearly seems like it's too late for you."

A defiant Khalifa responded: "I'd say supporting Palestine has lost me business opportunities, but I'm more angry at myself for not checking whether or not I was entering into business with Zionists. My bad."

In a separate post, Khalifa said: "I just wanna make sure there's 4k footage of my people breaking down the walls of the open air prison they've been forced out of their homes and into so we have good options for the history books that write about how how they freed themselves from apartheid.

"Please worry about your sad little company lacking direction and purpose before you utter my name again. I stand with all people fighting oppression, now and always, do your research before begging for my investment in your little project, I'm from LEBANON, are you insane for expecting me to be on the side of colonialism you f****** weirdo."

Messages Made Public

Radio host and wrestling pundit Peter Rosenberg also criticized Khalifa's post in a direct message. Khalifa subsequently made their private exchange public on her X account, where she currently has more than 5.7 million followers.

"I stand with all oppressed people, everywhere, until no one is fighting for freedom," the screenshot showed Khalifa responding. "I'm from Lebanon, I've lived through more air [raids] by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] than your tiny privileged brain could ever know how to work through.

"[You] know nothing but tall tales of a land that doesn't belong to you, created by a military that has nothing to do with your peaceful god loving religion. Don't you ever disrespect me and my experience with what geopolitical war is again you man child."

As of Tuesday, the Gaza Health Ministry said 2,778 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded, according to the Associated Press, while Israel says over 1,400 Israelis have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, have been taken hostage.

Despite concerns of a power vacuum in Gaza—which has been governed by Hamas since 2006—due to the removal of the Palestinian organization by force, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.N. and a member of Netanyahu's ruling party told Newsweek last week it has "no intention to hold Gaza" permanently.

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Khalifa via email for comment.

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