Current:Home > reviewsErin Foster says 'we need positive Jewish stories' after 'Nobody Wants This' criticism -MoneySpot
Erin Foster says 'we need positive Jewish stories' after 'Nobody Wants This' criticism
View
Date:2025-04-17 07:30:14
Erin Foster is addressing critics of her new Netflix show "Nobody Wants This."
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Foster, who created the series, addressed criticism of the show, which follows an agnostic, unfiltered podcast host, Joanne (Kristen Bell), who collides with a man totally her opposite at a dinner party.
"I think we need positive Jewish stories right now. I think it's interesting when people focus on, 'Oh, this is a stereotype of Jewish people,' when you have a rabbi as the lead. A hot, cool, young rabbi who smokes weed," Foster said. "That's the antithesis of how people view a Jewish rabbi, right?"
In the show, Joanne has an undeniable connection with the charming, emotionally available Noah (Adam Brody), but things are complicated by a difference in beliefs.
Foster continued: "If I made the Jewish parents, like, two granola hippies on a farm, then someone would write, 'I've never met a Jewish person like that before. You clearly don't know how to write Jewish people, you don't know what you're doing, and that doesn't represent us well.'"
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
The show is based on the love story of Foster, the daughter of Grammy-winning composer David Foster, and her husband Simon Tikhman, who she tied the knot with on New Year's Eve 2019.
Critics of 'Nobody Wants This' address stereotypes of Jewish women
Criticism over the depictions of Jewish women in "Nobody Wants This" was swift.
"It's a shame the Jewish women in 'Nobody Wants This' are impossible to root for — one-dimensional and painfully trope-ridden. Joanne's interest in converting to Judaism to be with Noah is understandable; he's the perfect boyfriend. But who'd want to become a Jewish woman when this is what being one looks like?" a writer for the Jewish feminist cultural site Hey Alma wrote.
Jessica Radloff wrote for Glamour that she "struggled with 'Nobody Wants This,'" writing that "while I love Noah's commitment to Judaism, and just the fact that he's one of the best TV boyfriends I've seen in some time, I can't say the same about the other Jewish characters on the show — primarily the women."
'Nobody Wants This' review:Kristen Bell, Adam Brody are oh-so romantic and sexy
Radloff continued: "Would it be too much just to see Jewish characters in shows without feeling othered?"
Writer Esther Zuckerman wrote in Time that, "What should be a show about a woman's entrance into and embrace of Jewish culture instead perpetuates the worst ideas about Jewish women. I wanted to fall in love. Instead, I just felt targeted."
Contributing: Erin Jensen
veryGood! (833)
Related
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Earthquake rattles Greek island near Athens, but no injuries or serious damage reported
- Pennsylvania’s election will be headlined by races for statewide courts, including a high court seat
- Japan’s prime minister visits Manila to boost defense ties in the face of China’s growing aggression
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Lack of affordable housing in Los Angeles’ Venice Beach neighborhood inspires activism and art
- 'White Lotus' star Haley Lu Richardson is 'proud' of surviving breakup: 'Life has gone on'
- Former Memphis cop agrees to plea deal in Tyre Nichols' beating death
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of stealing billions from customers and investors
Ranking
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Tensions spike in Rio de Janeiro ahead of Copa Libertadores soccer final and after Copacabana brawl
- Trump asks appeals court to stay gag order in D.C. 2020 election interference case
- Jeff Bezos to leave Seattle for Miami
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Why Kendall Jenner Was Ready for Bad Bunny to Hop Into Her Life
- Matthew Perry Laid to Rest at Private Funeral Attended by Friends Cast
- Selling Sunset's Bre Tiesi Reveals Where Her Relationship With Nick Cannon Really Stands
Recommendation
Sam Taylor
The Trump-DeSantis rivalry grows more personal and crude as the GOP candidates head to Florida
Victor Wembanyama has arrived: No. 1 pick has breakout game with 38 points in Spurs' win
15 UN peacekeepers in a convoy withdrawing from northern Mali were injured by 2 explosive devices
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
Jung Kook's 'Golden' is 24-karat pop: Best songs on the BTS star's solo album
Blinken warns Israel that humanitarian conditions in Gaza must improve to have ‘partners for peace’
Two New York residents claim $1 million prizes from Powerball drawings on same day