Mubi rejects documentary maker’s claims that they shelved his work amid protest over Israeli ties
Mubi, a streaming service and film distributor, has denied accusations that it shelved Eddie Huang’s documentary Vice Is Broke in reaction to his protest against its investment company, which has ties to an Israeli military-tech company.
Mubi have recently been under fire since their new partnership with the private equity firm Sequoia Capital, which reportedly has close ties to defence-tech startup Kela. Kela was founded in 2024 by a group of Israeli intelligence veterans, explicitly following the Hamas attacks of October 7th. Kela is allegedly developing a battlefield operating system that will allow military units to integrate AI and commercial tech.
The streamer attempted to manage the discontent of users and film lovers alike through a statement that read in part, “Some members of our community have commented on the decision to work with Sequoia given their investment in Israeli companies and the personal opinions expressed by one of their partners.” However, the statement clarifies that “the beliefs of individual investors do not reflect the views of MUBI.”
In light of this, on July 30th, Huang took a stand against Mubi. Online, he wrote, “I did not make Vice Is Broke to help fund genocide. Im not participating in Mubi publicity for our film until there is change on this issue.”
He also encouraged others to participate in a boycott of the platform, writing, “I would love to promote the film and have as many people watch but there are more important things. Id rather be financially destitute than morally broke.”
Only a day later, Huang took to Instagram again to claim that Mubi were attempting to make an “example” of him after his refusal to collaborate. In a video, he claimed that Mubi president Jason Ropell had informed him over the phone that Mubi was ceasing all promotion of his film. No one would see it unless he and the producers repurchased it, Ropell allegedly told him.
The official synopsis for Huang’s documentary reads, “From author, chef and director Eddie Huang, VICE IS BROKE sleuths through the stories that took an indie ‘zine to the peak of counterculture – then dramatically toppled it.” The trailer includes revealing quotes from former Vice workers, including, “We were biased. There’s nothing journalistic about bias.”
The irony of the current situation is not lost on Huang, who said in his video, “Private equity also swallowed up Vice, where I used to work with a lot of great people doing a lot of great work. And we made this documentary as a cautionary tale so that people knew not to go down that hill again. It just doesn’t make sense to me why a company would buy a film with a message like this and then do the opposite.”
Mubi have denied Huang’s claim in a statement to Deadline. They suggested, instead, that the film is “in constructive discussions with the filmmaker and producers about the film’s release on Mubi, and will share further updates as those conversations progress.”
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