As the 2024 Oscars red carpet got underway, helicopters could be heard circling overhead. Hundreds of protesters marched in a pro-Palestinian demonstration just south of the Dolby Theater on March 10, calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Film Workers for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace LA, Adalah Justice Project, and SAG-AFTRA Members for Ceasefire rallied at the Cinerama Dome at 1 p.m. PST, marching through Hollywood. “We will not be distracted by the entertainment industry. We WILL continue to call for a permanent ceasefire and Palestinian liberation,†they wrote in a joint Instagram post. Reporter Sam Braslow wrote that the march “converged†on Highland Avenue, stopping cars arriving to the ceremony and shaming attendees as they walked to the event.
On the red carpet, many attendees wore Artists for Ceasefire pins — including Billie Eilish and Finneas, Poor Things’ Ramy Youssef, and Nimona’s Eugene Lee Yang. Anatomy of a Fall’s Milo Machado-Graner and Swann Arlaud wore pins of the Palestinian flag.
Some of the marchers made it past police barricades and stood on the corner of Hollywood and Highland throughout the ceremony. Megaphones led chants of “While your watching bombs are dropping,†“Stop the killing stop the slaughter, Gaza has no food and water,†and “Biden Biden, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today?†The protesters competed with a man scooting through the crowd, blasting West Coast rap, as well as the pedestrians and tourists of Hollywood. The 50 to 100 demonstrators were met by about as many cops and cop cars.
Pro-Palestine demonstrations have also disrupted Sundance and the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Many bands are pulling out of South by Southwest this year due to the event’s sponsorship by the U.S. military and weapons manufacturers like RTX (formerly Raytheon). Israel has threatened to invade Rafah by March 10, per NBC News. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will move forward with invading Rafah despite Biden calling it a “red line.â€
This post has been updated.