Helen Mirren Calls London Verbal Attack a Mistake

Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren has publicly addressed a verbal attack she and her husband endured on a London street last year, describing the incident as a mistake by a man who was perhaps mentally unstable. The actress made the comments while speaking to reporters at the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily, where she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The incident, which occurred in November 2025 while Mirren was walking with her husband, filmmaker Taylor Hackford, involved an unidentified man who filmed the couple and called Mirren an "evil Zionist bitch." He referenced her past public support for Israel, including a 2023 interview where she stated, "I believe in the existence of Israel, and I believe Israel has to go forward into the future for the rest of eternity. And I believe in Israel because of the Holocaust." Video of the encounter circulated online in May of this year, prompting the Metropolitan Police to investigate it as a possible hate crime. After discussions with Mirren and Hackford, police closed the case without further action.

When asked about the incident, Mirren said she was attacked by mistake by a man who was "maybe a little over...