This year's Emmy stars speak out about Gaza

Some of television’s biggest stars used this year's Emmy awards ceremony on Sunday to speak out against the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, whether by donning pins calling for a cease-fire, telling red-carpet reporters they're boycotting Israeli-linked production houses, or using their acceptance speeches to share their support for Palestine.

Several nominees and winners at one of the biggest awards nights for television pinned red buttons that read "Artists4Ceasefire" on their ceremony attire, including "Hacks" actor Hannah Einbinder, who won best supporting actress in a comedy; "White Lotus" stars Aimee Lou Wall and Natasha Rothwell; Ruth Negga of "Presumed Innocent," and Chris Perfetti from "Abbott Elementary."

Ending her acceptance speech, Einbinder said: “Go birds, fuck Ice and free Palestine.”

The Artists4Ceasefire collective of entertainment industry professionals was started two week into the war on Gaza and calls for “an immediate de-escalation and cease-fire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost.” The pin has become a staple at high-profile Hollywood events, appearing on gowns and tuxedos at the Oscars and previous Emmy awards.

Hollywood in support of Palestine

More than 1,800 actors, entertainers pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions over Gaza

Spanish actor Javier Bardem, nominated this year for his performance in "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," is one of thousands of industry professionals who, last week, signed the "Film Workers for Palestine pledge" vowing not to work with Israeli institutions "complicit in war crimes."

Other big-shot names on the 4,000-strong list include Olivia Coleman, Tilda Swinton, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, "Selma" director Ava DuVernay, Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, and Elliot Page.

In red carpet remarks to AFP, Bardem, clad in a kuffiyeh, explained, "We target film companies and film institutions that are complicit and are related to whitewashing or justifying the genocide in Gaza and for Israel, of Israel, and its apartheid regime."

"I will never work with some companies now [who] are not condemning the genocide in Gaza," he insisted. “Me not getting jobs is absolutely irrelevant compared to what is going on there."

Backstage, Einbinder, also a pledge signatory, reporters backstage: "I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel because our religion and our culture is such an important and longstanding … institution that is really separate to the ethno-nationalist state."

“Boycotting is an effective tool to create pressure on the powers that be to meet the moment," Einbinder said. "The Film Workers for Palestine boycott does not boycott individuals; it only boycotts institutions that are directly complicit in the genocide … I think it’s an important measure, so I was happy to be a part of it.”