Sports broadcaster, business owner and vocal Israel supporter Emily Austin will be attending the State of the Union address Thursday night as the guest of Florida Republican congressman Cory Mills.
Austin’s 2.1 million social media followers are acquainted with her popular basketball podcast, her beauty company, and viral news segments where she defends Israel and advocates for the release of the hostages kidnapped on the October 7 massacre and held in Hamas captivity.
The 22-year-old New Yorker told The Post that she’s always been outspoken and proud of her Jewish identity. When her career and social media platform took off when she was 18, this identity didn’t conflict with her work.
However, since October 7, Austin lost followers, her brand deal with Puma, and position as a judge for the Miss Universe pageant.
Austin has been a frequent guest on Israeli and American news. She appeared on the cover of Makor Rishon magazine. A clip of her segment trying to engage in conversation with a Hamas supporter on Piers Morgan went viral. She posts videos to her social media accounts wearing a “Bring them Home Now!” t-shirt and dog tags associated with the movement advocating for the release of the hostages.
Steadfast support for Israel
Though her support is public, Austin said she does a lot of work behind the scenes engaging with her local community as well as other creators on social media.
“It’s become super political. Human rights, women’s rights are not political,” Austin said. “Disagreeing with someone doesn’t mean you don’t hear their opinion.”
Austin wants to engage with people who disagree with her the most, she said. At the State of the Union, she’s hoping to have conversations with elected officials who disagree with her.
She’ll be wearing a black dress with large, yellow ribbons on the front and back, a symbol that has come to represent the hostages.
The importance of speaking out
“Most people my age aren’t given a voice,” Austin said. “If you have it and don’t use it, how dare you.”
Also at the State of the Union will be 17 relatives of Americans taken hostage, The Post previously reported.
The Post reached out to Rep. Mills’ office for comment.
Comments are closed.