Most of the Hollywood celebrities showed up at the 96th Academy Awards in Dolby Theatre wearing red pins to express their support for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The pin features a striking design with a red circle, a orange-striped open hand, and an black heart at its center.
On Sunday night, March 10, celebrities like Billie Eilish, Ramy Youssef and Mark Ruffalo wore the pins in support of Artists4Ceasefire, a group of artists, who signed an open letter to US President Joe Biden calling for immediate de-escalation and cease-fire in Gaza Strip.
More than 400 actors such as Bradley Cooper, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Drake, Ben Affleck, and Jennifer Lopez have signed the letter.
“The pin symbolises collective support for an immediate and permanent cease-fire, the release of all of the hostages and for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza,” Artists4Ceasefire said in a letter.
“Compassion must prevail,” it added.
“Beyond our pain and mourning for all of the people there and their loved ones around the world we are motivated by an unbending will to stand for our common humanity. We stand for freedom, justice, dignity and peace for all people – and a deep desire to stop more bloodshed,” the letter further reads.
“We refuse to tell future generations the story of our silence and inaction. History is watching us,” says Martin. Griffiths from the United Nations.
“We’re all calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. We’re calling for the safety of everyone involved. We really want lasting justice and peace for the Palestinian people,” Youssef said during a red carpet interview.
“We really just want to say, ‘let’s just stop killing children.’ There’s so much there to process and it feels like the easiest way to have the conversations that people want to have is when there isn’t an active bombing campaign happening.”
Ruffalo expressed support for the protest during a social media video interview with reporters on the red carpet.
“The Palestinian protest shut down the Oscars tonight! Humanity wins!” he said.
Israeli occupation continues its aggression against the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 31,000 deaths, the majority of whom are children and women, in addition to 72,654 injuries, an infinite toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble.
