‘It’s the bare minimum’: Viewers react to red pins Billie Eilish, Ramy Youssef and more are wearing to the Oscars. What do they mean?
Some of the biggest names in showbusiness are pledging their support for Palestine tonight, as numerous Academy Award nominees wear pins calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
"We’re calling for immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza. We’re calling for peace and lasting justice for the people of Palestine," "Poor Things'" Ramy Youssef told Variety. “It’s a universal message of, ‘Let’s stop killing kids. Let’s not be part of more war.’"
Youssef and Billie Eilish were among those wearing the red pins, while Anatomy of a Fall's Milo Machado-Graner and Swann Arlaud took things a step further by wearing badges sporting the Palestinian flag.
This is far from the first time stars have brought politics to the Oscars, but these latest calls for a ceasefire comes after a number of Hollywood stars, including Youssef, signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire as part of a collective known as Artists for Palestine.
On X, users were especially struck by Eilish, whose song "What Was I Made For?" is nominated for Best Original Song, deciding to wear the pin.
"You have no idea how much seeing her wearing that pin means to me," one user wrote.
"We love a girl with influential power who stands for whats right," another added.
A third simply remarked, "She's so mother for this."
Similarly, a fan of Youssef dubbed him an "absolute legend" for his words on Palestine, while another X user said of Eilish, "She’s a queen for this…but now we need more celebrities with platforms like hers to do the same."
Users were especially complimentary of Machado-Graner and Arlaud's decisively bolder statement, with one X user saying, "I was just thinking that I keep seeing those red pins like folks are afraid to say shit with their chest and here comes these two."
But on the other side of things, users also expressed concern about the performativity of the gesture, as another netizen questioned whether a pin badge was enough.
"Friendly reminder that a ceasefire is the bare minimum and that it's not synonymous with wanting a free Palestine nor does it even denote caring about Palestinians' wellbeing and safety," they wrote.
Another echoed, "A child has more courage to do the bare minimum than most of the grown adults in Hollywood," referencing 15-year-old Machado-Graner.
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