Hannah Einbinder says Hollywood’s lack of Palestine support “pisses me off”
Hannah Einbinder, the star of the HBO comedy drama Hacks, has said that the lack of support in Hollywood for Palestine “pisses me off”.
The actor most recently won an Emmy for her performance opposite Jean Smart in the series, using her speech to stand up for Palestine. But while appearing on a new podcast episode, she also used the opportunity to call more prominent acting figures to arms.
Einbinder was appearing on the latest episode of the Beyond Israelism podcast and said, according to Variety, that the lack of solidarity with Palestine across the film landscape “pisses me off.”
She elaborated, “Because I’m sitting here with [Algerian-Palestinian activist] Mahmoud [Khalil], who has so much to risk and who has risked so much, who has sacrificed so much.”
The actor added: “I look at these people who have absolutely every privilege imaginable to mankind and they cannot utter a single word,” referencing the often notable silences from major stars when the subject of Palestine, or any other widespread world issue, is brought up.
Her sentiments have been echoed by other prominent supporters of Palestine, such as Billie Eilish, who has called out celebrities for their lack of action on various occasions and most recently said she was “raised” to be an activist.
Despite this, Einbinder continued: “I guess it makes me naive, but I cannot understand it. I really can’t understand it. And I hear people say that they don’t know enough and it’s like, ‘OK, so what do you do all day?’”
Major Hollywood figures who support Palestine have often found themselves forced to justify why they take such a stance. In particular, following his “no to war, and Free Palestine” statement at the Oscars, Javier Bardem said in an interview, “I have the right to denounce what I think is wrong”.
However, Einbinder noted the difference between this and vocal resistance against the Trump administration, pointing to Jimmy Kimmel being taken off air or Stephen Colbert’s show being cancelled as examples that “people in Hollywood, unfortunately, need these issues to affect a white person for them to see it as relating to them.”
She added: “It took it happening to these white men for people to be like, ‘Oh my god.’”
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