'God give me strength!' Alex Armstrong rips apart claims Shakespeare was actually a ‘black Jewish woman’ in furious outburst

Sharing a screenshot of a news headline on X, Mr Armstrong wrote: "A new book claims William Shakespeare was a 'black Jewish woman,' arguing that his works have been obscured for centuries by 'Western-centric and Eurocentric ideology'.

"The author claims Shakespeare was a cosmopolitan woman with a multicultural identity. God give me strength."

The headline referred to a newly released book, The Real Shakespeare, by feminist historian Irene Coslet, published earlier this year by Pen and Sword Books.

In the book, Ms Coslet argues the works traditionally attributed to William Shakespeare were in fact written by Emilia Bassano, a poet connected to the Tudor court.

She describes Ms Bassano as a “black Jewish woman” of North African, or Moorish, origin, and claims the historical Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon was an uneducated “interloper” who plagiarised her work.

Ms Coslet argues Ms Bassano’s multicultural background provided the intellectual breadth seen in Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, and claims the truth has been deliberately obscured by centuries of “Western-centric and Eurocentric ideology”.

The author further asserts that women of colour have been “silenced, belittled and erased” from dominant historical narratives due to racism and misogyny within academia.

The book also addresses portraits of Ms Bassano, suggesting her skin tone was “deliberately lightened” in artwork to conform with Elizabethan beauty standards.

Mr Armstrong’s post quickly drew hundreds of responses, with many users dismissing the theory as ideological revisionism rather than serious scholarship.

One commenter wrote: “They’re being indoctrinated with fake histories on TikTok. It’s only going to get more comical as we continue letting them erase us.”

A new book claims William Shakespeare was a “black Jewish woman,” arguing that his works have been obscured for centuries by “Western-centric and Eurocentric ideology”.

The author claims Shakespeare was a cosmopolitan woman with a multicultural identity.

God give me strength. pic.twitter.com/CnmbtuPb7R

— Alex Armstrong (@Alexarmstrong) January 24, 2026

Another sarcastically added: “History gets muddled over the centuries. He was really a jeweller from the Black Country and a transwoman.”

Others expressed exhaustion at the debate, with comments including: “It’s getting tiring now.”

"Just make anything up, it’ll be promoted as long as it’s woke,” and “Can everyone stop being mental please," other X users penned.

However, not all responses were critical. Some users defended the book’s premise, arguing that challenging traditional historical narratives was necessary.

One supporter of Ms Coslet wrote: “I hope this is true, even if it means the misogyny was so baked into society that its victims truly believed in it. I love the idea of overturning ‘Western-centric ideology’ and showing what claptrap it’s always been.”

Another user asked a more cautious question: “Is there actual proof?”

The claims have reignited the so-called “authorship question” surrounding Shakespeare, a debate that has persisted for centuries and previously suggested figures such as Christopher Marlowe and Francis Bacon as alternative authors.

Mainstream historians, however, overwhelmingly support Shakespeare’s authorship, citing extensive documentary evidence linking him to the works.

Neither Pen and Sword Books nor Ms Coslet have responded directly to the backlash surrounding Mr Armstrong’s comments.

While the book has found an audience among those interested in revisionist history and feminist scholarship, critics argue that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, something they say remains absent.