Israeli actress Noa Cohen, who plays Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Netflix’s new film Mary, asserted on Tuesday that she had received death threats while she was in Morocco filming the movie from January to March 2024, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“I got messages from Moroccan profiles [on social media] who said they know what hotel you’re staying at,” Cohen said in an interview on the Keshet 12 program “Good Evening with Guy Pines” on Tuesday night.
While her contract included significant security measures to ensure her safety, she said, “It was frightening. Some people found out I was in Morocco, and I started receiving threats on Instagram.”
Despite the threats, the $70 million film which features Hollywood legend Anthony Hopkins, was completed without incident, according to Cohen.
She said after the film’s trailer was released, “It was shocking to see how the rhetoric shifted—from calling me ‘a Zionist’ to ‘Israeli’ and then to ‘Jewish’ . . . . It was pure antisemitism, nothing else.”
Hollywood actress Gal Gadot reached out to Cohen to offer her support during the ordeal.