The Umbrella Academy season 2 faces backlash over ‘antisemitic dog-whistling’

Primary villain in hit Netflix series is shown speaking Yiddish

The Umbrella Academy has come under fire from viewers after season two was accused of continuing to use “antisemitic stereotypes” in its new season.

Netflix‘s hit series returned on Friday (31 July), and has been criticised by many viewers for including a corrupt organisation whose evil boss, known as The Handler, is shown speaking Yiddish, the language almost exclusively spoken by Ashkenazi Jews.

The same character – played by Kate Walsh – also appeared in the first season, which prompted The Board of Deputies of British Jews to write an open letter against the series.

“The use of a Yiddish saying by the evil boss of an organisation which controls the world’s timeline is clearly an anti-Semitic trope,” Amanda Bowman, Vice President of the board, wrote.

“Whether intentional or not, this makes for very uncomfortable viewing. Netflix should take action to remove the racism from this scene.”

Following the controversy, fans were shocked to see that the character was still using the language in new episodes.

One viewer said they believed its inclusion to be “deliberate” when considering the uproar it caused in 2019.

The show's co-creator, Steve Blackman, has defended the show from the criticism, saying claims of antisemitism are "hurtful and factually incorrect". Read his full response here.

In season two, The Handler can also be seen speaking Mandarin and Swedish, which one viewer said begs the question: “Why have her speak Yiddish when she could speak ANY other language?”

TikTok user @nyarchivist accused the show of “antisemitic dog whistling” in a video about the series.

“Having the villain speak that language is [saying], ‘Look at these big Jewish villains, aren’t they vile, look at their gross language.’ That is what it is. That is what it’s always been, because society is built on believing that Jewish people control everything. That is antisemitism.”

Another viewer added: “I don’t know what to tell you, The Umbrella Academy having the ‘secret world domination cult’ speaking Yiddish is definitely, intentionally antisemitic.”

The Umbrella Academy, which first aired in 2019, is an adaptation of My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way’s comic book series of the same name.

Starring Ellen Page and Robert Sheehan, the series follows a family of disparate former child heroes who reunite to protect the world.

Netflix denied The independent‘s request for comment. Way is yet to respond.