Celebrities including Steve Coogan, Brian Cox, Joe Lycett and The Crown star Khalid Abdalla supported Palestine at the TV Baftas last night calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Actors and TV stars used the glitzy ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall as a platform to make a political statement as they arrived on the red carpet wearing red pins and holding hands.
The pins were released by Artists4Ceasefire, a group of people within the entertainment industry, and are a symbol that is seen as a call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
In March, Israeli figures criticized A-list celebrities for wearing red pins at the Oscars, saying the image dates back to the lynching of two Jewish men in Ramallah in 2000.
Cox, who played Logan Roy in Succession, attended the Baftas with his wife, actress Nicole Ansari-Cox, who was also seen wearing a red pin.
Celebrities including Steve Coogan, Brian Cox and The Crown star Khalid Abdalla supported Palestine at the TV Baftas last night.
Joe Lycett poses with the Entertainment Performance Award for ‘Late Night Lycett’ with a red pin attached to his outfit
Cox was wearing a red pin that is a symbol calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The pins were released by Artists4Ceasefire, a group of people within the entertainment industry.
Khalid Abdallaa, 43, who played Princess Diana’s late boyfriend Dodi Fayed in the Netflix show, also held up a clear bag containing 14,000 red sequins to represent each “child who has been killed in Gaza.”
Poldark actress Sofia Oxenham, The Last Kingdom’s Stefanie Martini and Luke Rollason and Bilal Hasna from the Disney+ series Extraordinary also wore the red pin.
Abdallaa, 43, who played Princess Diana’s late boyfriend Dodi Fayed in the Netflix series, also held up a clear bag containing 14,000 red sequins to represent each “child who has been killed in Gaza” in the middle of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
On the other hand, the star had written ‘Stop arming Israel’ with a black marker while posing for photographs holding the sequins.
On social media platform Multiply that by 2.46 and you get the current death toll, more than 34,500.’
UNICEF confirmed that more than 14,000 children have been killed and 12,000 injured in Gaza since Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 last year.
It’s not the first time the actor has shared his political stance on the conflict, writing ‘never again’ on his hand at the 2024 Emmy Awards in January, in reference to the war between Israel and Hamas.
Khalid also made a political statement when he called for a ceasefire at the Los Angeles premiere of the sixth series of The Crown in November last year.
She joined her castmates Elizabeth Debicki (Diana), Rufus Kampa (William) and Fflyn Edwards (Harry) at the screening ahead of the series’ premiere on November 16.
British actress, writer and director Susan Wokoma, best known for her roles as Edith in the Enola Holmes films, also wore a red pin.
(Top left to bottom right) Stefanie Martini, Luke Rollason, Mr Cox’s wife Nicole Ansari-Cox, and Bilal Hasna were seen wearing the red pin.
Poldark actress Sofia Oxenham also wore the red pin. A-list celebrities were previously criticized for wearing the pins at the Oscars
Several celebrities wore these pins at the Oscars, held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, representing the ‘Artists4Ceasefire’ movement, a group that advocates for a ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza
(L-R) Rollarson, Oxenham, Emma Moran, Máiréad Tyers and Hasna wear Gaza ceasefire badges at the Baftas.
Israeli public figures previously criticized A-list celebrities at the Oscars for wearing red pins in their hands symbolizing support for the Gaza ceasefire by ‘Artists4Ceasefire’.
While posing for photos with co-star Elizabeth, Khalid revealed writing on his hand in black pen that read “Cease Fire NOW.”
He wrote on Twitter about the message: ‘Because all lives are sacred. Because I believe in the power of the human heart.
‘Because we need to be clear and open and do everything we can for a better world. #StopFireNow.’
It’s a hashtag he has used before, writing on Remembrance Sunday alongside a photograph of pro-Palestinian protesters: “So proud of London for not succumbing to all the intimidation and showing what a march of love for our common humanity looks like in the Armistice”. Day. #CeaseFire NOW.’
In March, the pins were worn at the Oscars by the likes of Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas, Cord Jefferson, Mark Ruffalo, Ava DuVernay, Ramy Youssef and Quannah Chasinghorse.
“The brooch symbolizes collective support for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza,” the group said in a statement.
Both Noa Tishby and Yoseph Haddad, prominent Israel advocates, criticized celebrities who wore red Artists4Ceasefire badges at the Oscars.
A protester shows a hand covered in fake blood, as pro-Palestinian supporters gather for an anti-Israel rally in 2023 to show solidarity with the people of Gaza in Palestine Square, in Tehran, Iran.
Both Noa Tishby and Yoseph Haddad, prominent Israel advocates, criticized celebrities who wore red Artists4Ceasefire pins at the Oscars.
Tishby and Haddad have been active in international advocacy efforts, discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with politicians, students, and the general public.
According to Haddad, this movement arose in response to yellow pins advocating for the release of Israeli hostages, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Tishby and Haddad believe that wearing these pins carries significant symbolism.
Tishby noted the absence of yellow tape pins, calling for the return of Israeli hostages, along with the appearance of red pins.
He expressed concern that this could be interpreted as endorsing Hamas’s agenda by questioning Israel’s right to self-defense.