Normally, the Facebook activities (or lack thereof) of a secondary sitcom actress don’t make headlines, but when that actress is
Mayim Bialik, number 30 on
The Jerusalem Post's most influential Jews list, everything she does courts controversy. Bialik, best-known for playing the title character in
Blossom, also appears in almost every episode of
The Big Bang Theory's recent seasons as geeky scientist Amy Farrah Fowler. She also wrote a book about attachment parenting, and gives lectures on being an observant Jew in Hollywood. That last point has made her a major lightning rod, though Bialik is careful not to label herself as Orthodox, because she sometimes compromises her observance in order to keep her acting job. Recently, she said she was excited to find a "tznius" (modest) outfit – a sheer shirt under a sleeveless dress – and was faced with a barrage of online insults, with many Orthodox women telling her she is immodest. Finally, Bialik said she is
quitting Facebook, which she had been using for years to communicate with fans… which led to another uproar, lots of posts on Jewish blogs, and concerned tweets. "Who knew that Orthodox ladies criticizing my cleavage would be the straw that broke the camel's back,"
Bialik tweeted.
In other news about Jewish stars of 20+ years ago making a comeback, we have
Paul Rubens, who is making a new
Pee-wee Herman film produced by
Post's number 25 most influential Jew
Judd Apatow. Check out Rubens talking about the upcoming movie:
Last week,
Bar Refaeli complained about not being able to get a date, despite being
Maxim's hottest woman in the world. This week, she was spotted at a New York bar, dancing and
making out with The Flying Tomato himself, Olympic gold medal-winning snowboarder and skateboarder
Shaun White. White had a cameo in the film
Friends with benefits; maybe this is life imitating art?
For those of you tut-tutting at Refaeli's penchant for non-Jewish paramours, we have a new celebrity couple comprised of two members of the tribe.
Community and
Mad Men actress
Alison Brie has been quietly dating
Dave Franco, who acted in
Scrubs and
21 Jump Street but is best known for being the brother of actor\artist\author James Franco, for the past six months.
Us Weekly printed
a photo of the two shopping in Los Angeles.
In casting news, Israeli actress
Odeya Rush, 15, has been cast as the Virgin Mary in a prequel to
The Passion of the Christ called
Mary, Mother of Christ. She'll portray Mary at ages eight through 19, in the film that also stars
Ben Kingsley and
Julie Ormond. Rush left Israel at age nine to act in the US, and has been featured on
Law and Order and
Curb Your Enthusiasm.
The Weekly Schmooze collects the hottest Jewish culture news from around the world. Ranging from celebrities to philanthropy to quirky communities, we're here to schmooze about Jews. If you have any news to share with The Weekly Schmooze, write to:weeklyschmooze@gmail.com