OSCAR-NOMINATED US musicians Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell arrived at the Academy Awards red carpet wearing a red pin, which calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.
Eilish and her brother O’Connell, who are up for an original song award for Barbie tune What Was I Made For?, both leant their support to the Artists4Ceasefire campaign ahead of the Oscars at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
They previously won an Oscar in the same category for James Bond theme song No Time To Die.
The deadly conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas was not far from the minds of the A-listers on the #Oscars red carpet. Finneas O'Connell, Billie Eilish and Ramy Youssef were among those sporting an "Artists4Ceasefire pin" pic.twitter.com/SV3Vei7mqd
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 10, 2024
The Artists4Ceasefire group says the pin symbolises “collective support for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of all of the hostages and for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza”.
Who else wore a ceasefire pin?
American actors Ramy Youssef and Mark Ruffalo, who both starred in surreal comedy Poor Things, up for a best picture Oscar, US director Ava DuVernay and British actor Riz Ahmed were also among those arriving with a pin.
Youssef told Deadline that “it’s about ‘stop killing kids'”.
“We’re using our voices to speak to people’s hearts,” he added.
“We want people to have safety and justice.”
READ MORE: The National supports Medical Aid for Palestinians fundraiser – how to donate
He also said: “It’s obviously something a lot of people have a lot of opinions about, and I think there can be a place and time to process feelings.
“The best time to process feelings is when there isn’t active violence happening. So, we need to stop the violence, we need to stop the bombing.”
In October, Hamas – a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK – invaded Israel, kidnapping hundreds of civilians and taking them back to the Gaza Strip as well as killing more than 1,000.
The Israeli Government has retaliated with months of attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding tens of thousands.
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