BILLIE Eilish, Finneas, Mark Ruffalo, Ava DuVernay, Ramy Youssef, and Quannah Chasinghorse are among the latest celebrities to wear uniform red lapel pins at the Academy Awards. Although he didn’t walk the red carpet, actor Mahershala Ali also wore one of the pins while helping introduce the nominees for this year’s Best Supporting Actor award.
However, what does it mean?
Featuring the outline of a hand around a black heart, the pin calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, which Palestinian health authorities say has caused 30,000 deaths in Gaza since October.
More than 400 celebrities joined Artists4Ceasefire, a campaign that in late October issued a letter urging the US Congress and President Joe Biden to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.
In a press statement, Artists4Ceasefire said: “This pin symbolizes collective support for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of all captives, and the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.”
But unlike other symbolic accessories like the Time’s Up movement, which became prevalent at awards shows in 2018 to show support for victims of sexual assault, truce pins have only been seen on a few celebrities on the red carpet recently.
Also read: Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell break the record as the youngest Oscar winners
At this year’s Grammy Awards, Boygenius and Annie Lennox prominently wore the pins, with Lennox pleading for a ceasefire and peace on stage.
On the Oscars red carpet on Sunday, Youssef, a comedian and actor who starred in “Poor Things” with Ruffalo and Emma Stone, expressed his frustration with the lack of momentum to end the war.
“There is no other route,” Youssef told Variety of the ceasefire call. “It’s been so long… That’s what we’ve all been pushing everyone to speak up about.”
Other celebrities who signed the Artists4Ceasefire letter include Cate Blanchett, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Bradley Cooper, and America Ferrera. (CNN/Z-3)
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