celebrity backlash

Alyssa Milano first became an activist more than 30 years ago. But she talks about her serendipitous moment as if it were yesterday.

In the late 1980s, when she was appearing on the sitcom Who is the boss? , One of her fans was an HIV-positive teenager named Ryan White. The two became friends.

“He asked me if I could go on TV and kiss him to show that you can’t get AIDS from casual contact,” Milano recalls. She agreed and kissed White on Phil Donahue’s national talk show.

“It was the first time I felt like being an actor and being on TV had a purpose bigger than myself,” she says.

Since then, she has championed a variety of causes, including reproductive rights, gun reform, and the #MeToo movement. Over time, she learned the pros and cons of having both her visibility and sense of purpose.

After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, UNICEF Ambassador Milano took to her social media platform to share the NGO’s message.

The backlash was swift, she said. “Every time I posted from this peaceful place, I felt like I was either a terrorist sympathizer or I wasn’t fighting strong enough against the oppression of Palestinians,” Milano explained. do. Social media is a powerful tool for her activism, but it comes at the cost of “some vitriol,” she says.

Celebrities are amplifiers

Oscar winning actor thelma & louise Star Susan Sarandon says her lifelong activism is ingrained in her being.

“It’s a character flaw,” she laughs. It’s unfair and always really hurts. ”

voiced by Sarandon As a longtime supporter of Palestinians, he said he was “shocked” when United Talent Agency (UTA) removed him from speaking at a ceasefire rally in Gaza.

She says her words were taken out of context. Nevertheless, she released her statement on social media, apologizing if she hurt anyone. UTA declined NPR’s request for comment.

Sarandon said the “isolation from her tribe” is “painful” but she plans to continue calling for a ceasefire.

“My job is to imagine,” says actor Susan Sarandon. “And if you imagine and empathize, how can you not empathize with the mothers whose children are being blown up and torn to pieces?” Sarandon, who is a mother and grandmother, expressed her support for U.S. support for Israel’s bombing of Gaza. Join CODEPINK at the U.S. Capitol on February 15, 2024 to protest.

Sarandon recently participated in a ceasefire protest at the Capitol organized by CODEPINK. Feminist organizations warned the press of her coming. She also appeared on NBC, Al Jazeera, and other news outlets. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, says Sarandon’s presence was a game changer.

“We’ve been roaming these halls for three months and no one paid any attention to us, especially Congress officials. But when she was with us, the media gathered and Congress It can also attract stakeholders themselves,” she gushed.

Not all members of Congress. Sarandon met with Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Congresswoman Cori Bush. However, Richie Torres refused to meet with her. Sarandon told reporters that the reason may be because she receives funding from the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC. Torres said on social media that Sarandon trafficked in “anti-Semitic victim blaming.”

Despite the potentially harsh consequences, some artists are still using their star power to call for a ceasefire.fan of euphoria Actor Hunter Schaefer learned earlier this week that he and dozens of other anti-war protesters were arrested in the lobby of NBC’s headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in time for an interview with President Biden. Seth Meyers’ Late Night.

Mr. Schaefer’s arrest was covered by numerous media outlets, including: Associated Press, USA Today and Los Angeles Times, Expand the ceasefire message.

But the backlash may be quick

will and grace Star Debra Messing is one of many celebrities who have publicly spoken out in support of Israel. Others include actors Michael Rapaport and Amy Schumer.

Last November, at a March for Israel rally in Washington, D.C., Messing told a crowd of about 300,000 people, “I pray that the Israel Defense Forces succeed in this war that Israel did not start and did not want.” , Israel will win the war.” . ”

Messing also visited Israel and met with the families of hostages held by Hamas, posting videos of the visit on social media. She visited tunnels built by Hamas.

Her trip was coordinated by Creative Communities for Peace (CCFP), an organization that works to “promote the arts as a bridge to peace” and “educate about the rise of anti-Semitism within the entertainment industry.” . Ari Ingel, CCFP’s executive director, said the artists’ trip to Israel was aimed at “witnessing what happened on the kibbutz and meeting people and survivors of the attacks.” talk.

While many on social media thanked Ms. Messing for sharing her story about the hostages and their families, she spoke only about one side of the conflict, including the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the tens of thousands of people being killed by Palestinians. He was also criticized for not mentioning the victims. She was killed by Israeli forces.

On a recent trip to Israel, “Will & Grace” star Debra Messing toured the sites of Hamas attacks and met with survivors and families of hostages.

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“Working with colonial forces that are forcing people from their homes and killing thousands of civilians isn’t exactly ‘activist’,” Messing said in a comment on his Instagram. there were.

Ingel said more than 2,000 artists and industry leaders, including Gal Gadot, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jerry Seinfeld, Mayim Bialik, Chris Pine and Michael Douglas, signed CCFP’s open letter in support of Israel. He said he signed it.

The letter reads: “We call on the entertainment community to speak out strongly against Hamas, support Israel, refrain from sharing misinformation about the war, and call on terrorist organizations to return innocent hostages to their families. “We are asking you to do everything you can.”

Ingel says celebrities who have expressed support for Israel are facing “condemnation.” He pointed to a protest outside the Syracuse theater where Seinfeld performed. Equally problematic, he said, was the “silence” of individuals and organizations after Hamas attacks. He noted that the Writers Guild of America has waited more than two weeks to comment on this atrocity.

“I think a lot of Jews in the entertainment community felt abandoned, not just by the silence, but by the condemnation,” Ingel says.

“Taking a stand” vs. “Nagging, nagging, nagging”

At the famous March on Washington in 1963, the late activist and entertainer Harry Belafonte told the crowd that he believed artists were “exposing” society itself. Sometimes that means revealing things that are difficult to hear.

Jane Fonda did it often throughout her life. In 1973, when she spoke to KQED about the Vietnam War, she asked, “What’s the point of exterminating a people?” “My father fought in World War II against people who wanted to exterminate his people. I don’t think today we should deny everything our fathers fought for,” she said. insisted.

Fonda was widely criticized for her comments about U.S. troops in Vietnam. However, her anti-war stance resonated with millions of people.

“When celebrities speak out about foreign policy, we often see a lot of backlash for their activities,” said Sarah King, an assistant professor of history at the University of South Carolina Aiken who has studied the activities of celebrities during the Vietnam War. says.

King said the backlash appears to be particularly derogatory toward women. She notes that Fonda’s activism was portrayed more harshly than fellow actor Donald Sutherland.

“It’s been argued that he stands his ground, whereas Jane Fonda is portrayed in more negative terms,” ​​King points out. ”Nag, nag, nag.” Read newspaper headlines from 1971 life Magazine article.

Should artists speak out?

“We live in a time when celebrity voices matter more than most people,” says Jon Stewart, Jordan Peele, Bella Hadid, Dua Hadid, and others who spearheaded the Artists4Ceasfire letter to President Biden. Lipa, Jennifer Lopez And Bradley Cooper.

The letter calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, citing tens of thousands of casualties, which “anyone with a conscience knows are catastrophic numbers.” “We believe that all life is sacred, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and we condemn the killings of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.”

Batrice said many artists were discouraged from signing the letter by their agents and publicists, and those who did faced backlash from friends and entertainment industry insiders.

Still, Batrice believes that if you have a platform, you should use it to help those who need it.

“I have a certain hope that people will use their privilege to be brave,” Batrice says. “I’m also extremely grateful to the artists who have had the courage to persevere despite the voices telling them not to.”

In this video screenshot, actress Melissa Barrera (in green sunglasses) participates in a pro-Palestinian march organized by Rhett Gaza Live in Park City, Utah on January 21, 2024. The protest took place during the Sundance Film Festival.

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Actor Melissa Barrera has vowed to stay active.She was fired from the cast of her next production scream The film when she posted pro-Palestinian messages on social media. But instead of retreating, she doubled down. She released her statement in which she condemned “anti-Semitism and Islamophobia” and said she would “continue to speak out for those who need it most.” She participated in the Ceasefire protest at Sundance, and she expressed no regrets.

“Honestly, I feel like I’m finally becoming who I’m meant to be in life. I’ve been waking up to that in the last few months,” she told The Associated Press.

A publicist told me that artists “naturally express their emotions…that’s the essence of art.” He did not want to be identified.