Again, amidst another major American pop-culture event, this time the Met Gala, Israel launches a ground invasion on Rafah, a Palestinian located in the southern Gaza strip.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Met Gala, it’s essentially a fundraising event (really a costume party) for the most elite celebrities with a select few of social media influencers invited. A single ticket to the Met comes at a hefty tag of approximately $75,000, which would be nearly enough to evacuate a Palestinian or Sudanese family from active genocides.
Increasing disparities between the celebrity and non-celebrity class reflect more effective methods of extraction from the colonized people of the world. By refusing to acknowledge and directly confront the colonial, capitalist, white supremacist systems they inhabit and benefit from, celebrities’ participation within these systems tacitly (and sometimes directly) endorses, supports, and reproduces these systems.
All this leads to why we must divest from celebrities. The start of divestment from celebrities has taken off– the #Blockout2024, an online rapidly-growing movement of non-celebrities collectively choosing to block celebrities and influencers who remain silent on current genocides. Quite quickly, the trend is showing how yes, celebrities utilizing their platform is in fact impactful, and can make a difference in swaying the public’s attitudes.
Immediately after the (unofficial) announcement of the #Blockout2024 trend, celebrities like Lizzo and Eric Andre began to post in support of Palestine, with Lizzo sharing GoFundMe’s, and Andre calling for a ceasefire. It just goes to show that celebrities aren’t oblivious to the real world as much as fans (stans) like to believe, and that they do see our critiques surrounding them.
However, I take celebrities posting about Palestine, or any world atrocity for that matter, with a grain of salt. Had they felt genuine care towards current world issues, we wouldn’t have to apply pressure on them to make statements or show basic humanity. Yes, they posted on their social media feeds, but let’s ask ourselves why wealthy celebrities are asking us civilians to donate to GoFundMes while they sit on the means to donate to multiple mutual aid initiatives.
To add to that, when they do “speak” on Palestine, many celebrities merely wear ceasefire pins while still attending Zionist hosted events or play it safe by saying something like “Free everyone” and keep it at that. There is no specificity of Palestine or addressing zionism in their networks. Essentially, they’re staying neutral while giving just enough to satisfy their fans, and continue making profit.
Celebrities and all of us collectively, must demand for more than a ceasefire, and ultimately call for a free Palestine. We must recognize Israel for what it is – a genocidal occupation – while actively pushing back against the cruelty of Zionism, and advocating for the right to return for all Palestinians.
Many would argue that celebrities aren’t obligated to speak on world issues, that blocking celebrities is merely a form of performative activism. Of course, a swift block won’t solve what’s occurring in Palestine, Sudan, or the Democratic Republic of Congo, but I’d argue that celebrities are more obligated than anyone else to amplify and shed light on world atrocities. Yes, we shouldn’t look to them for political takes or ideologies, however we should at least expect them to unplug from their luxurious lifestyles, and realize their actions too play a role. Our attention and likes transfer directly into profit for celebrities, which is why we should be picky about who we choose to support. No names, but if a celebrity chooses to stay silent while Israeli settlers claim her song as an anthem, maybe we should reevaluate who we hold up as our icons.
Personally, I am loving the #Blockout2024 movement. It’s exciting to me that the general public is becoming more radicalized, and questioning our relationships with celebrities. Not only that, but I’m a full supporter of utilizing the block button to preserve my peace. Someone has bad vibes? Blocked. There’s beef stirring? Blocked. Contrary to popular belief, you have every right to block whoever and curate your social media experience to be enjoyable.
As people, we have to change our relationship with consumerism, and disentangle our personal identities and celebrity affiliation from our political ideologies. When we make the choice to talk about, idolize, and continue to follow celebrities, we need to understand the systems we unintentionally support and uphold by doing so. The #Blockout2024 trend is the result of people becoming increasingly aware of the roles their consumer choices play in the ongoing imperial occupation of the colonized world.
