Billie Eilish, Ramy Youssef show support for Gaza cease-fire at Oscars

by Judy Kurtz - 03/10/24 8:38 PM ET

Singer Billie Eilish, “Poor Things” star Ramy Youssef, director Ava DuVernay and actor Mark Ruffalo are making a sartorial statement about the Israel-Hamas war with their Oscars wardrobe, sporting pins calling for a cease-fire.

The stars were all seen on Sunday’s red carpet at the 96th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles wearing the red pins, which the organization, Artists4Ceasefire, said were aimed at showing “collective support for an immediate and permanent cease-fire, the release of all of the hostages and for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza,” according to a release sent to The Hill.

Ramy Youssef arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

“We’re calling for the safety of everyone involved. And we really want lasting justice and peace for the Palestinian people,” Youssef said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

It’s not the first time that a performer tied to Artists4Ceasefire has called for a cease-fire amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas during a major Hollywood awards show. At the 66th annual Grammy Awards last month, singer Annie Lennox yelled out, “Artists for cease-fire” and “peace in the world” following her performance.

Lennox was one of many entertainers who signed a December open letter to President Biden from Artists4Ceasefire calling for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost.”