celeb news +1,300 actors/artists sign a letter condemning censorship & Melissa Barrera’s firing

[State of Grace.]

 

Full letter:

Quote

To the Arts and Culture Sector,

We write to you as artists and cultural workers united in our commitment to justice, dignity, freedom, and equality for all people in Israel / Palestine. We hold every life to be precious, and we grieve every death. 

 

The scale of violence unfolding in Gaza demands our collective attention and action. 

 

Members of Israel’s far-right government are openly calling for ethnic cleansing. 

 

The use of starvation as a weapon of war, along with denial of water and electricity, is cruel beyond words. 

 

The wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure, the bombing of hospitals, schools, churches and mosques, the killing of 14,500  people in a matter of weeks, amount to a policy of collective punishment against the Palestinian people. The United Nations and hundreds of legal scolars have called on the international community to prevent genocide.

 

As artists, we cannot remain silent in the face of such egregious violations of international humanitarian law.

 

While catastrophe unfolds, we have observed a glaring absence of statements of solidarity with Palestinian people from most UK arts organisations.

 

We find it deeply troubling and, frankly, indicative of a disturbing double standard that expressions of solidarity, which have been readily offered to other peoples facing brutal oppression, have not been extended to Palestinians. 

 

Such a discrepancy raises serious questions about bias in the response to grave human rights violations.

 

Far from supporting our calls for an end to the violence, many cultural institutions in Western countries are systematically repressing, silencing and stigmatising Palestinian voices and perspectives. This includes targeting and threatening the livelihoods of artists and arts workers who express solidarity with Palestinians, as well as cancelling performances, screenings, talks, exhibitions and book launches.

 

Despite this pressure, artists in their thousands are following their conscience and continuing to speak out. Freedom of expression, as enshrined in the Human Rights Act and the European Convention of Human Rights is the backbone of our creative lives, and fundamental to democracy. We remind cultural organisations and their funders of their obligation to uphold the right to freedom of expression and to uphold their commitment to anti-discrimination.

 

As artists and cultural workers, we stand in solidarity with those facing threats and intimidation in the workplace. The arts sector must urgently align its actions with its stated values of justice and inclusivity, and to refuse the dehumanisation of Palestinian people.

 

We call upon the arts and culture sector to:

 

– Publicly demand a permanent ceasefire.
– Promote and amplify the voices of Palestinian artists, writers, and thinkers.
– Stand up for artists and workers who voice their support for Palestinian rights.
– Refuse collaborations with institutions or bodies that are complicit in severe human rights violations.

 

To stay silent in the face of mass injustice and worsening humanitarian crisis would be an abrogation of moral duty. To actively silence the principled artists and workers who do fulfil this responsibility is a failure to meet legal obligations on freedom of expression and anti-discrimination. Many artists are refusing to work with institutions that fail to meet these basic obligations.

 

The struggle for freedom from racism for Palestinians and Jews is one of collective liberation. We refuse to pit one community against the other, and stand firmly against all forms of racism including Islamophobia and antisemitism.

 

In the spirit of justice, equality, and the shared values of the arts, we urge you to take a principled stance. 

https://artistsforpalestine.org.uk/2023/11/30/olivia-colman-among-1000-artists-accusing-art-institutions-of-censorship-on-palestine/

 

 

Love to see artists/actors/celebs who aren't afraid to stand for what's right and speak up against the blatant censorship and silencing of pro-Palestine voices. Solidarity is more important than ever  

 

Glad to see mother Olivia here as well 

[GraceRandolph]

Olivia Colman you will always be famous. 

[Freakshowvato]

[barbiegrande]

The Melissa BarRennaisance  

[thequeenofpopmadonna]

great!!! They do it justice.

[byzantium]

I love Olivia Coleman. 

[leyaris11]

Let Hollywood be Hollywood, freedom of speech, express yourself and stop pandering to China. 

[dawnettakins]

Awesome

[NoOneDiesFromLove]

As they should 

[Bloodflowers.]

UK artists better stand up

 

I worry that Hollywood might blacklist Melissa Barrera now, which is a shame. She is so talented and deserves to get more roles. Maybe UK studio might offer her good roles if Hollywood bans her.

 

[Joyride]

not Aimee Lou Wood

[Mystic Boy]

Of course Olivia Coleman did it

[SchmoodRing]

4 hours ago, Bloodflowers. said:

UK artists better stand up

 

I worry that Hollywood might blacklist Melissa Barrera now, which is a shame. She is so talented and deserves to get more roles. Maybe UK studio might offer her good roles if Hollywood bans her.

 

I think that was the original plan considering to most she may not be an "A lister" but with all the supporting and coverage she's gotten after being wrongfully terminated it backfired and they've lowkey set her up for a great trajectory. She has 4 movies coming next year. Jenna Ortega's solidarity also said alot too. Couldn't be more happy. Hope the girls work together again either with Neve, as sisters, on Wednesday or in a movie with Salma Hayek like they wanted. **** Spyglass. Wes would be ashamed. 

7 hours ago, barbiegrande said:

The Melissa BarRennaisance  

Next year we got the following to look forward to starring Melissa the secret monster movie project with radio silence, the one, your monster ALL HORROR MOVIES. Our reina Latina serving elevated horror final girl realness.

[G.U.Y_Del_Rey]

[Noosa]

Don’t know any of these people 

[IBeMe]

this is like the most direct open letter i have seen yet. unapologetically calling all of this what it is: western hypocrisy while a literal ethnic cleansing is occurring in the Mediterranean basin when we said NEVER AGAIN. We failed since then on multiple fronts but this is STOPPABLE RIGHT NOW. Applying enough pressure on Israel can cause it to halt or at least significantly ease up on this genocide...my God...

[J Legend X]

5 hours ago, SchmoodRing said:

I think that was the original plan considering to most she may not be an "A lister" but with all the supporting and coverage she's gotten after being wrongfully terminated it backfired and they've lowkey set her up for a great trajectory. She has 4 movies coming next year. Jenna Ortega's solidarity also said alot too. Couldn't be more happy. Hope the girls work together again either with Neve, as sisters, on Wednesday or in a movie with Salma Hayek like they wanted. **** Spyglass. Wes would be ashamed. 

Next year we got the following to look forward to starring Melissa the secret monster movie project with radio silence, the one, your monster ALL HORROR MOVIES. Our reina Latina serving elevated horror final girl realness.

wasn't this cancelled tho?

[livelikemusic]

Olivia Colman is our Queen.

[I♥Toronto]

BAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

[SchmoodRing]

10 hours ago, J Legend X said:

wasn't this cancelled tho?

No o.o why would it be. It's done filming and should be coming out spring next year

[Gaia]

21 hours ago, Noosa said:

Don’t know any of these people 

Right  

[J Legend X]

9 hours ago, SchmoodRing said:

No o.o why would it be. It's done filming and should be coming out spring next year

Most companies in Hollywood are Jewish so... you never know, some will be petty to re-shoot everything with a different actress regardless how expensive it is...

[BrandNewBrandon]

Great to see actors backing her up. It's a travesty she was fired for nothing other than expressing her opinion and Spyglass should be shown the middle finger. 

[Nashe]

the way all this shot her celebrity status through the roof is so satisfying to see

[SchmoodRing]

5 hours ago, J Legend X said:

Most companies in Hollywood are Jewish so... you never know, some will be petty to re-shoot everything with a different actress regardless how expensive it is...

That's not gonna happen with the visibility and backlash this has caused. Melissa may not be on the same level of celebrity as Jenna Ortega but she does have fans from various projects. Spyglass manage to piss of females, Latinos, horror buffs and gays all at once with this and their shameless attempt at still going ahead and with yet another reboot just shows how gross they're