Hollywood's biggest night saw artists use the red carpet to advocate for Palestinian liberation and a ceasefire amid the fragile situation in Gaza, continuing a trend of activism at entertainment awards shows. While political pins such as 'BE GOOD' and 'ICE OUT' were fewer than at last month's Grammys, the Academy Awards featured visible support for the Palestinian cause.
Actor Javier Bardem declared 'No to war and free Palestine' onstage before presenting the award for best international feature film. He wore a patch reading 'No a la Guerra,' the same anti-war slogan he sported to protest the Iraq war more than two decades ago.
Political organisers suggested celebrities found their political voices more this awards season than in recent years. Jess Morales Rocketto, executive director of the Latino advocacy group Maremoto, called it a 'return to form' for artists' political engagement. She credited comments by Mark Ruffalo on the Golden Globes red carpet in January, where he told Entertainment Tonight that he found it difficult to pretend 'like this crazy stuff isn't happening.'
Attendees representing 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' wore a new red 'Artists4Ceasefire' pin. The docudrama, which follows efforts to rescue a Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, was nominated for best international feature film. 'Our struggles are connected. So is our liberation,' Saja Kilani, one of the film's stars, told the Associated Press on the red carpet.
The ceremony itself proved more political than previous years, with host Conan O'Brien cracking jokes at the expense of the US health care system and Kid Rock. In a rare moment of sincerity, O'Brien said the Oscars are particularly resonant in 'moments like these,' nodding to the many different world crises. The best documentary category brought further social commentary, with directors speaking about losing one's country through 'countless small little acts of complicity.'
