The world is run by a global elite of Illuminati, and the government, the British royal family, celebrities, and journalists are all in on it.The details of that message have evolved over time, but for the past few decades, the broad strokes have remained the same. Icke commenced traveling the world to share his message, delivering lectures and publishing books and videos. In Britain, Icke became a much-mocked spectacle: In his most infamous appearance, he welcomed gales of laughter from the audience for one of his interviews, and the interviewer had to explain to him, “They’re laughing at you. In 1991, Icke resigned from the Green Party (which would later ban him, calling him a fascist), and then set out on a press tour during which he discussed his claim that he was the son of a Godhead. From there, he became interested in New Age spiritualism, then began hanging out with psychics, and ultimately came to the conclusion that he himself was “the son of a Godhead.”
It was while Icke was searching for a treatment for his arthritis that he began to explore alternative medicine. He stayed in the public spotlight working as a sports commentator, and he began to explore politics as a spokesperson for the ecology-focused UK Green Party in the 1980s. David Icke’s conspiracy theories are both racist and ludicrousĭavid Icke first rose to fame in the UK as a soccer player, but his career ended when he developed rheumatoid arthritis at age 21. To understand exactly how Walker, Icke, and the New York Times all came together - and why it’s so upsetting to so many people that they did - you have to understand Icke’s history as peddler of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, Walker’s largely ignored history of anti-Semitic writing, and the unexpected lightning rod for controversy that is the New York Times’s By the Book interview. In a statement to Vox, Icke wrote, “To claim that the book is ‘anti-Semitic’ - or that I am - is utterly ridiculous.” As a woman, and a person of color, as a writer who has been criticized and banned myself, I support his right to share his own thoughts.” Many attempts have been made to censor and silence him. I do believe he is brave enough to ask the questions others fear to ask, and to speak his own understanding of the truth wherever it might lead. In a post on her website published in response to the outrage over her By the Book interview, Walker writes of Icke, “I do not believe he is anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish. It is impossible to miss it.”īoth Walker and Icke have contested the idea that Icke is anti-Semitic. He adds, “Anti-Semitism is not incidental to Icke’s book, it is essential. “The only thing that is accomplished by uncritically disseminating Walker’s bigoted book bon mots is ensuring that the racism is disseminated to more people,” wrote Yair Rosenberg in a widely circulated article in Tablet. Walker’s recommendation, and the New York Times’s decision to publish it without comment, has attracted widespread outrage. Icke’s books, Walker says, are “a curious person’s dream come true.” “In Icke’s books there is the whole of existence, on this planet and several others, to think about,” Walker said in the column, specifically noting And the Truth Shall Set You Free, in which Icke variously argues both that Jews funded the Holocaust and that maybe the Holocaust did not happen. (Vox has reached out to Walker and Walker’s publisher, Atria, for comment.) While Walker has previously recommended Icke’s work on her blog, this is the first time her apparent affinity for him has gone quite so public. Icke is best known for arguing that the world is run by a secret cabal of alien lizard people, many of whom are Jewish. Walker has flirted with anti-Semitism for years, but the public at large seemed to ignore it - until last weekend, when she took some time in her New York Times Book Review “ By the Book” interview to admiringly shout out David Icke. Alice Walker, the beloved activist and author of The Color Purple, is under fire for promoting an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.