'Stop the genocide': Calls for Gaza ceasefire take the spotlight at 2025 Emmy Awards

Some of the entertainment industry's biggest stars used their appearance at the 2025 Emmy Awards on Sunday to turn the spotlight on the devastating situation in Gaza, where they voiced opposition to Israel's genocidal war and backed calls for political and cultural boycotts.

Wearing a black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh in a visible display of solidarity, Hollywood A-lister Javier Bardem told reporters that he was calling for a "commercial and diplomatic blockade" of Israel and sanctions "to stop the genocide."

"Here I am today, denouncing the genocide in Gaza," Bardem, who was nominated for his role in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, told Variety.

"I am talking about the IAGS, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, who study thoroughly genocide and have declared it is a genocide.

"That's why we ask for a commercial and diplomatic blockade and also sanctions on Israel to stop the genocide. Free Palestine."

Bardem, an Oscar winner known for using his platform to speak on political issues, also said he would not work with individuals or companies who "justify or support the genocide."

"I cannot work with someone who justifies or supports the genocide. That's as simple as that," he said. "We shouldn't be able to do that, in this industry or any other industry."

His comments came just days after more than 1,500 filmmakers and cinema professionals, including Bardem, Olivia Colman, Ava DuVernay and Mark Ruffalo, signed an open letter published in The Guardian.

Organised by the Film Workers for Palestine collective, the letter pledged to end collaborations with Israeli film institutions "implicated in genocide and apartheid."

The signatories, who include actors, directors, producers and distributors, said their boycott targets "institutional complicity, not identity." They named festivals such as Docaviv and the Jerusalem Film Festival as examples of bodies that "partner with the government committing them [genocide and apartheid]."

Bardem addressed the letter on the red carpet, responding to criticism from studios such as Paramount, which condemned boycotts targeting the Israeli film industry.

Speaking at the Emmy's, Spanish actor Javier Bardem called for a cultural, economic and diplomatic boycott of Israel.

Bardem added that he would not work with “someone who justifies or supports genocide”. pic.twitter.com/W4q3CPvBRF

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) September 15, 2025

"Film Workers for Palestine do not target any individuals based on identity," he said.

"The targets are those film companies and institutions that are complicit… and whitewashing or justifying the genocide and its apartheid regime."

Other stars made similar statements, and more pronounced statements.

Hannah Einbinder, who won Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for Hacks, ended her acceptance speech with the words: "Go Birds, fuck ICE and free Palestine."

The "fuck ICE" portion was censored during the CBS broadcast, but the rest of her remarks aired.

"Go birds, fuck ICE and free Palestine."

Hannah Einbinder turned her Emmy win for best supporting actress in a comedy into a platform for activism, wearing a red Artists4Ceasefire pin and joining fellow actors on the red carpet calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

In a… pic.twitter.com/PotaFIvpS1

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) September 15, 2025

Einbinder, a Jewish-American comedian and actress, also wore a red Artists4Ceasefire pin on stage and later explained her comments to reporters backstage, citing friends working as teachers and doctors in Gaza.

Hannah Einbinder on saying "Free Palestine" in her Emmys acceptance speech.

"It is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel. Our religion and our culture is such an important and long-standing institution that is really separate to this sort… pic.twitter.com/FNVTji7VC3

— Variety (@Variety) September 15, 2025

"It is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel," she said. "Our religion and our culture is such an important and long-standing institution that is really separate to this sort of ethnonationalist state."

She also expressed support for the Film Workers for Palestine boycott campaign, saying it "does not boycott individuals, it only boycotts institutions that are directly complicit in the genocide."

Megan Stalter, another Hacks cast member, arrived on the red carpet casually dressed and holding a purse marked "Ceasefire!" in bold black letters.

Actors Aimee Lou Wood and Natasha Rothwell of The White Lotus, Ruth Negga (Presumed Innocent) and Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) also wore Artists4Ceasefire pins, a symbol that has regularly appeared on red carpets since late 2023.

The Artists4Ceasefire campaign calls on the US government to push for "an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost." Its organisers say it supports a permanent ceasefire, release of hostages, and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The collective has gained traction across the film industry, including earlier efforts such as a 3,900-signature pledge circulated ahead of the Emmys, declaring a refusal to work with institutions 'implicated in genocide."