Oscars 2024: Oscars 2024: Ramy Youssef, Billie Eilish and more call for ceasefire
On the red carpet of the Oscars 2024 on March 10th in Los Angeles, Poor Things star Ramy Youssef and Billie Eilish were among the artists who expressed their support for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The two aforementioned nominees wore a red pin bearing a Artists4Ceasefire symbol, as did Eilish’s brother and collaborator, Finneas. They are an organisation, supported by more than 400 artists, calling for “an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost.”
Additionally, filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, and producer Nadim Cheikhrouha were also seen wearing the Artists4Ceasefire red pin. Meanwhile, Anatomy of a Fall star Milo Machado-Graner showed his support for Palestine by wearing a Palestenian flag pin.
Explaining his decision to support Artists4Ceasefire, Youssef told Variety on the red carpet: “We’re calling for immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza. We’re calling for peace and lasting justice for the people of Palestine. 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.”
Youssef continued: “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. We want to use where we’re at to speak to people’s hearts. 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. There’s no other route.”
The Poor Things actor concluded: “It’s taking so long, the president has called for it in the State of the Union. We need to look at ourselves and be honest, if the leadership supposedly thinks that should happen, why has it not happened? That’s what we’re all encouraging everyone to be vocal about.”
In total, Poor Things is nominated for 11 awards at the Oscars, including ‘Best Picture’. Yorgos Lanthimos is also up for the ‘Best Director’ prize.
Meanwhile, Eilish and Finneas’ contribution to the Barbie soundtrack, ‘What Was I Made For?’, is nominated for ‘Best Original Song’. The duo are also set to perform at the ceremony.
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