Emmys Red Carpet Becomes Call to End Gaza Genocide

By Staff, Agencies

This year’s Emmy Awards ceremony became an unprecedented platform for condemning the ongoing "Israeli" genocide in Gaza, as several actors used speeches and symbolic gestures to voice solidarity with the Palestinian people.

While accepting the award for best supporting actress in a comedy for Hacks, Hannah Einbinder delivered a pointed conclusion to her speech. 

After sharply criticizing US immigration authorities and denouncing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, she closed with a clear appeal: “Free Palestine".

Before the show began, Einbinder’s co-star, Megan Stalter, made her stance clear, carrying a bag on the red carpet emblazoned with the words “Cease fire!”

Hannah Einbinder, Ruth Negga, Chris Perfetti, and Aimee Lou Wood attended the ceremony sporting red pins from the Artists4Ceasefire campaign.

Actor Javier Bardem, nominated for best supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, appeared wearing a Palestinian Koufiyyeh. 

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he strongly criticized “Israel’s” genocide in Gaza, citing the International Association of Genocide Scholars’ admission that it amounts to genocide. 

Bardem called for a “commercial and diplomatic blockade” and sanctions on the "Israeli" occupation, closing with the appeal: “Free Palestine.”

The Spanish star also highlighted a pledge signed by himself and more than 4,000 filmmakers, committing not to collaborate with "Israeli" institutions unless they distance themselves from the war.

“We do not target individuals by their identity,” he said, explaining that the boycott focuses on “complicit film companies and institutions involved in whitewashing or justifying the genocide of 'Israel' in Gaza and its apartheid entity.”

Bardem vowed never to work with firms that don’t condemn the "Israeli" genocide in Gaza, saying career risks are irrelevant compared to the crisis.

As famine in Gaza deepens, stars like Bardem, Wood, and Einbinder pledge to boycott "Israeli" firms linked to genocide and apartheid.

Hundreds of actors, directors, and film workers have pledged not to collaborate with "Israeli" cultural institutions they say are complicit in “genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,” The Guardian reported last week.

“As film-makers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognize the power of cinema to shape perceptions,” the statement reads. “In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror.”

The initiative has over 1,200 signatories, including directors like Lanthimos and DuVernay, and actors such as Colman, Ruffalo, Bardem, and Swinton.

The pledge cites inspiration from the cultural boycott that helped end apartheid in South Africa.

Signatories pledge to avoid events and collaborations with institutions they see as complicit in whitewashing or supporting genocide and apartheid.

“We answer the call of Palestinian film-makers, who have urged the international film industry to refuse silence, racism, and dehumanization, as well as to ‘do everything humanly possible’ to end complicity in their oppression,” the statement continues.

Film Workers for Palestine leads the campaign, with supporters like David Farr, who cites his Holocaust survivor heritage to back the cultural boycott.

The FAQ cites "Israeli" festivals like "Jerusalem" [al-Quds] and Haifa as linked to occupation, noting most "Israeli" film companies don’t support full Palestinian rights.

Though not naming the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions [BDS], the statement is a major cultural boycott linked to the Gaza war, echoing past efforts like Filmmakers United Against Apartheid.

Amid rising activism against the Gaza genocide, stars like Phoenix, Pascal, Fiennes, and del Toro joined hundreds in condemning the film industry's silence.
Many urged SAG-AFTRA to shield members from blacklisting over Palestine views; Actors’ Equity advises avoiding some "Israeli" institutions.

In 2023, 65+ Palestinian filmmakers accused Hollywood of dehumanizing Palestinians and urged a boycott of companies that justify "Israel’s" crimes.

At this year’s Venice Film Festival, The Voice of Hind Rajab—about a Gaza girl martyred by "Israeli" forces—received a 23-minute standing ovation and widespread acclaim, produced by Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, and others.