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Billie Eilish, actor Ramy Youssef and other celebrities are making a statement about the gruesome Israel-Hamas conflict.
On Sunday night, March 10, the Oscar winning singer, her brother Finneas, and the "Poor Things" actor descended down the red carpet ahead of the 96th Academy Awards. Eilish wore a black-and-white skirt with a matching blazer. Youssef also wore a black suit jacket with matching thobes. Both celebrities prominently wore red pins, which is the official symbol for Artists 4 Ceasefire. The initiative has enlisted a plethora of artists, actors, actresses and other creatives who all want 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 declared to Variety. “It’s a universal message of, ‘Let’s stop killing kids. Let’s not be part of more war.’ No one has ever looked back at war and thought a bombing campaign was a good idea. To be surrounded by so many artists who are willing to lend their voices, the list is growing. A lot of people are going to be wearing these pins tonight. There’s a lot of talking heads on the news, this is a space of talking hearts. We’re trying to have this big beam to humanity.”
Artists4Change sent an open letter to President Joe Biden just weeks after the conflict began. The letter encouraged President Joe Biden and Congress to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and it was signed by celebrities like Drake, Killer Mike, Vic Mensa, Miguel, Kaytranada, Macklemore, Dua Lipa, Jennifer Lopez, Cate Blanchett, Joaquin Phoenix, John Cusack, Lena Waithe and more. The red pins made first made waves last month at the 2024 Grammy Awards when boygenius artists Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker wore them on the red carpet. Other celebrities who wore the red pins tonight director Ava DuVernay, director Misan Harriman, “Nimona” actor Eugene Lee Yang and more.