A number of Hollywood celebrities protested more than just the Trump administration's immigration policies at the 98th Oscars ceremony held at Dolby Theatre on Sunday.
Many artists wore protest badges and used the red carpet to advocate for Palestinian liberation and a ceasefire amid the fragile situation in Gaza, adding to the growing artist-driven activism at entertainment awards shows.
“No to war and free Palestine,” actor Javier Bardem said onstage before presenting 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.
Actor Mark Ruffalo wore a pin calling for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire on the red carpet. Singer Billie Eilish, actor Ramy Youssef and many other stars in attendance accessorised with a red pin representing "Artists4Ceasefire", a collective of more than 400 artists who support a ceasefire in Gaza.
"We’re calling for immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza. We’re calling for peace and lasting justice for the people of Palestine," Youssef said on the red carpet ahead of the show. "It’s a universal message of, ‘Let’s stop killing kids. Let’s not be part of more war.’ "
As Hollywood's awards season comes to a close with the Oscars, political organisers suggested that celebrities found their political voices more this cycle than in recent years.
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.
Israeli strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians since a US-brokered truce went into effect in October, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
“Our struggles are connected. So is our liberation. And we're so, so honoured to be here tonight,” Saja Kilani, one of the film's stars said on the red carpet.
The content of Sunday's ceremony proved more political than previous years — even if it lacked direct references to the Iran war and other global issues.
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“One Battle After Another” director Paul Thomas Anderson said he wrote the political drama for his children to apologise for the “housekeeping mess we left in this world we're handing off to them.”
Host Conan O'Brien cracked jokes at the expense of the US health care system and Kid Rock, referring to conservative organisation Turning Point USA's alternative Super Bowl halftime show.
In a rare moment of sincerity, O'Brien said the Oscars are particularly resonant in “moments like these”, nodding broadly at the many different world crises.
“We pay tribute tonight not just to film, but to the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience and that rarest of qualities today: optimism,” he said.
The best documentary category, whose nominees tend to contain more overt political messages, brought more social commentary.
David Borenstein, one of the “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” directors, said the documentary is about “how you lose your country.” That happens through “countless small little acts of complicity” such as “when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities” or when “oligarchs take over the media,” Borenstein said.
“We all face a moral choice, but luckily, even a nobody is more powerful than you think,” he said.
Other advocacy groups used the hubbub of the show to draw attention to their causes. Pushing against corporate media consolation, Free Press had a mobile billboard circling the Dolby Theatre to protest Paramount Skydance's likely takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Maremoto executive director Jess Morales Rocketto acknowledged that no one pin will create the systemic change to US immigration policy that she seeks. But she likened each individual action to “droplets” in the “giant ocean that we are trying to move.”
“This only happens if stars say yes, if stars decide to use their platform, if they decide that they want to make statements that go beyond, what am I wearing,'” she said. “I don't take that for granted. It's a big move for people to say that.”
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