A new film from Ben Shapiro’s conservative media company, The Daily Wire, is already sparking controversy before its release. Run Hide Fight: Infidels, starring Jonathan Majors, follows a Delta Force veteran who returns to action after “radical Islamic terrorists” take over a liberal US college campus and impose Sharia law. The film is set against the backdrop of a pro-Palestine campus encampment. It has been criticized for turning real-world debates around Islam, Palestine and immigration into a fictional terrorist threat.
Critics Say It Revives Post-9/11 Fear
Much of the criticism focuses on how the movie portrays Muslims and pro-Palestine activists. Its trailer reportedly uses footage of 9/11, Islamic extremism, and pro-Palestinian campus protests before bringing them together in the film’s fictional storyline.
Critics argue that the movie blurs the line between Muslim identity, Palestinian solidarity and terrorism, creating what they see as a modern version of the anti-Muslim fear that became widespread in the US after 9/11.
One particularly controversial moment features Majors’ character warning students that Islam will “conquer the West” through immigration, birth rates and the freedoms of Western societies, rhetoric critics say echoes far-right theories about a planned Muslim demographic takeover.
TikTok Is Calling Out the Film’s Anti-Muslim Message
The debate has also spilled onto TikTok, where clips from the trailer have sparked strong reactions. Some users have described the movie as blatant Islamophobic propaganda.
Much of the criticism centers on the decision to place a fictional terrorist attack directly inside a pro-Palestine campus protest. For critics, that choice makes the film feel less like a conventional action movie and more like a political statement aimed at people supporting Palestine.
Jonathan Majors’ Controversial Comeback
The film also marks a major comeback for Jonathan Majors. Once viewed as one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars and a future Marvel lead, his career changed dramatically after his 2023 conviction for assault and harassment involving his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.
Marvel dropped Majors from its upcoming projects shortly after the verdict, and he was removed from several other major productions.
Now, nearly three years later, Majors is returning to the screen in a film that is itself at the center of a political controversy, making his casting one of the most talked-about aspects of the project.
Why Ben Shapiro Is Part of the Debate
The film’s producer, Shapiro, a prominent conservative commentator and co-founder of The Daily Wire, has been one of the strongest US supporters of Israel during the Gaza war.
In 2024, Shapiro said he did not simply condone Israeli military actions in Gaza, but that he “celebrate[s] and laud[s] them,” a comment that has continued to draw criticism.
With Run Hide Fight: Infidels reportedly inspired in part by the political climate surrounding pro-Palestine protests, critics see the film as another extension of that political messaging rather than simply an action thriller.
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