The Babka King Calls Out Antisemitism

Chris Caresnone “The Babka King” IG page

Apr. 9, 2025, food blogger and social media influencer Chris Caresnone—a.k.a. the “Babka King”—posted an Instagram reel bearing the headline, “Every time I post Jewish content, this happens…”

In the two-minute-47-second video, Caresnone explains that of all his content featuring cuisine from various nations and cultural traditions, that which highlights Jewish food is consistently met with an inordinate amount of negative comments.

“I’ve done all the cultures,” said Caresnone on Instagram. “I’ve done white people, I’ve done black people. I’ve done Indian, Italian, Mediterranean, Greek…I’ve done Polish, Russian. I’ve done everything. Belizean. I see the most stuff—the most negative comments on my Jewish content.”

After posting a reel where he tried Sephardic Jewish cuisine, Caresnone was accused in the comments of being paid by Israeli agencies and pro-Israel lobbyist organizations—despite Caresnone having also previously featured and celebrated Palestinian cuisine on social media. In his Apr. 9 post, Caresnone explained that all of his content featuring Jewish cuisine is met with such responses. Caresnone then clarified that it is only his Jewish-centered content that regularly receives an influx of racist, hateful, and antisemitic comments. Virtually every other nature of content is well-received.

“Y’all think that they’re paying me to talk about food?” asked Caresnone in the video. “The antisemitism that I have noticed and I have personally felt—I have gotten death threats…is real.”

In January 2025, The Times of Israel interviewed Caresnone and claimed that he and his work are “bridging cultural gaps.” After overcoming obesity and anxiety and now living with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Caresone—born Chris Campbell—chose to become a motivational speaker and dedicate himself to spreading positivity. He attempts to bring “lightness and warmth” to each endeavor and shared that there “is not a hateful bone in [his] body.”

When Caresnone first featured the kosher restaurant The House of Glatt on his Instagram page, he was immediately met with welcoming and kindness from the Jewish community. Caresnone told The Times of Israel that he was invited to Shabbat dinners and rabbis’ houses and that “doors [were] opening” to him. From others, he received only backlash and negativity.

“I see the antisemitism, it’s very open. People say some crazy stuff,” Caresnone told The Times of Israel—a sentiment that he echoed in his recent Instagram reel.

“It’s crazy. There’s only 14 million Jewish people on Earth y’all. And I can see why they’re always in fear, because it’s openly, like, cool,” Caresnone said on Apr. 9.

Caresnone went on to share that his calling out of antisemitism was not an indication of his political affiliations or opinions regarding “the conflict,” presumably the ongoing war in Gaza. He stated that he considers himself someone who is against violence in all cases and forms and that there are many actions and policies of the American government that he disagrees with.

“That ain’t some political stance. That’s just me telling the truth,” Caresnone wrote in the caption. He followed:

“The Jewish culture has embraced me in ways that others haven’t…. And when someone shows love, I show love back. It's called the law of reciprocity. But it’s wild how some people get mad at that. Like I’m not supposed to work with people who treat me well? That's asinine from my world view.”