Javier Bardem has criticised Hollywood's stars over the lack of activism at Sunday (15 March) night's Academy Awards.
The film world's brightest stars gathered last night for a celebration of the year in movie-making, with Sinners and One Battle After Another being the big winners of the night.
When it came to outright political statements, however, the Oscars were a far more muted affair, compared to earlier events in the awards season such as the Golden Globes and Grammys where stars sported pin badges with the slogans “Be Good” (a reference to Renée Nicole Good, who was killed by ICE agents in January) and “ICE Out”.
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Never one to shy away from making a political statement, however, was Javier Bardem, who wore a patch reading “no a la guerra” – which is “no to war” in Spanish. Later on, while presenting the award for Best International Feature film, he declared: “No to war and free Palestine.”
Speaking to The Independent backstage at the Academy Awards, the Spanish film star suggested that those in Hollywood were too “comfortable” to speak out.
“I think it's comfortable-ness,” he said. “I think they don't want to feel, themselves, uncomfortable. And that makes me uncomfortable; me and many others.”
Bardem, 57, continued: “When I said ‘free Palestine’ in the room, in that theatre, the room broke [out] in a round of applause. So there is support, there is a lot of people supporting it, but it's not loud enough.
“That's what I try to inspire. Like, ‘Guys, it's OK. You can be part of the community of film-making, and also be a citizen, and it's OK.' One thing should be OK with the other.”
Bardem has long been outspoken on the Palestinian cause. While appearing on US daytime talk show The View in June, the star said that he “suffers on a daily basis” due to what he saw happening in Gaza, only for the show to cut to an advert break.
Last month, Bardem was one of 81 artists to sign an open letter addressed to the organisers of the Berlin Film Festival, questioning the “institutional silence on the genocide of Palestinians”.
Earlier in the festival, Berlinale president Wim Wenders had argued that filmmakers should avoid making political statements and "stay out of politics”.
There were still some political statements at this year's Oscars. The filmmakers behind The Voice of Hind Rajab, which was nominated for Best International Feature Film, wore a new red Artists4Ceasefire pin on the red carpet. The docudrama follows efforts to rescue a Palestinian girl killed in Gaza.
The patch worn by Bardem was one the actor first wore to protest the Iraq war more than two decades ago.
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