THE START OF the Academy Awards ceremony was briefly delayed last night by a protest over the ongoing conflict in Gaza as a number of stars sported red pins in support of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Oscars ceremony started five minutes late because protesters brought traffic to a halt in the heart of Hollywood. Variety reported that stars and films executives were forced to get out of their cars, ditch their heels and walk to the Dolby Theatre.
On the red carpet, a host of celebrities wore pins supporting a ceasefire. Among them were Poor Things actor Mark Ruffalo, director Ava DuVernay and pop singer Billie Eilish.
Wearing the pins was part of a wider movement among people in the American entertainment industry pushing for a ceasefire. The campaign, Artists4Ceasefire, has sent an open letter to US President Joe Biden calling for “an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost”.
The conflict also featured in British Jonathan Glazer’s acceptance speech. His film The Zone of Interest, which follows the family of the commandant of Auschwitz living in the shadow of the Naz death camp, won the Best International Film award.
“Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst. It’s shaped all of our past and present,” said Glazer as he accepted the award before issuing an impassioned statement about the conflict in Palestine.
“Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people,” said Glazer, who is Jewish.
“Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanisation, how do we resist?”
#PoorThings star Ramy Youssef talks to THR about his Artists4Ceasefire pin while on the red carpet at the #Oscars pic.twitter.com/ACzHyd7xnm
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 10, 2024
Actor Ramy Youssef, one of the cast in Irish production Poor Things, told The Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet that the pin was been worn by “so many artists” at the awards show.
“We’re all calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. We’re calling for the safety of everyone involved. And we really want lasting justice and peace to the Palestinian people,” he said.
“We really want to say, let’s just stop killing children, and there’s so much there to process, and it feels like the easiest way to have a lot of the conversations people want to have is when there isn’t, you know, an active bombing campaign happening.”
Cillian Murphy, who won the Best Actor award, closed out his acceptance speech with a dedication to “the peacemakers everywhere”.
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