Oscar-Nominated Actress: I Was Not Afraid to Support Palestine, and Gaza’s Children Are Still Dying
British Oscar-nominated actress Florence Pugh has revealed that she may have lost hundreds of thousands of followers on social media over the past few years because of her public support for Palestine. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Pugh said she was not afraid to express her support for Palestinians, despite being among the early voices in Hollywood to speak publicly about the Palestinian cause. Over the past few years, the actress has regularly shared links to fundraising campaigns and humanitarian aid efforts for Palestinians. She also made headlines last September after making a surprise appearance at the “Together for Palestine” fundraising event. During the event, Pugh told the audience: “Silence in the face of such suffering is not neutrality; it is complicity.” “I Was Not Afraid to Speak About Palestine” Speaking to Vanity Fair, Pugh said she did not understand why it had taken so long for more people to begin talking about the suffering of Palestinians and expressing sympathy for them. “I was never scared of it,” she said. “And strangely, the fact that so few people were talking about it made me even more confused, and perhaps made me feel even more entitled to speak about it.” According to the magazine, no one on Pugh’s team advised her to remain silent on the Palestinian issue. She also expressed gratitude to those who helped her take part in the “Together for Palestine” event, despite the event conflicting with production work on Avengers: Doomsday. “Children Are Still Dying” Pugh said that Palestinian suffering is still ongoing, adding: “Children are still dying, and mothers are still in pain. It is truly horrific to witness all this suffering while our lives seem to carry on as normal.” She also spoke about the difficulty of dealing with this contrast on social media, saying: “How can I say that I’m having a wonderful time when, in the post immediately before it, I see a child without a mother or a father?” The “Together for Palestine” event, in which Pugh participated, raised more than $2 million for humanitarian organizations. A number of artists and musicians took part in the event, including Gorillaz, King Krule, Brian Eno, PinkPantheress, Cat Burns, Bastille, James Blake, and Sampha, among others. Concluding her remarks at the event, Pugh said: “Compassion should not be this difficult, and it never should have been,” adding: “I’ll leave that message with you. Enjoy the rest of your evening, put pressure on governments, and thank you for being here.”
Key Highlights of this Report
- •Florence Pugh said she was never afraid to publicly support Palestine.
- •She may have lost hundreds of thousands of social media followers because of her stance.
- •She questioned why more people had not spoken earlier about Palestinian suffering.
- •Pugh stressed that “children are still dying” and mothers continue to suffer.
- •She said that silence in the face of suffering is not neutrality, but complicity.
- •She has repeatedly shared fundraising and humanitarian aid campaigns for Palestinians.
- •Pugh participated in the “Together for Palestine” event, which raised more than $2 million for humanitarian organizations.
- •She called for compassion and pressure on governments in response to the ongoing suffering.
British Oscar-nominated actress Florence Pugh has revealed that she may have lost hundreds of thousands of followers on social media over the past few years because of her public support for Palestine.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Pugh said she was not afraid to express her support for Palestinians, despite being among the early voices in Hollywood to speak publicly about the Palestinian cause.
Over the past few years, the actress has regularly shared links to fundraising campaigns and humanitarian aid efforts for Palestinians. She also made headlines last September after making a surprise appearance at the “Together for Palestine” fundraising event.
During the event, Pugh told the audience: “Silence in the face of such suffering is not neutrality; it is complicity.”
“I Was Not Afraid to Speak About Palestine”
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Pugh said she did not understand why it had taken so long for more people to begin talking about the suffering of Palestinians and expressing sympathy for them.
“I was never scared of it,” she said. “And strangely, the fact that so few people were talking about it made me even more confused, and perhaps made me feel even more entitled to speak about it.”
According to the magazine, no one on Pugh’s team advised her to remain silent on the Palestinian issue. She also expressed gratitude to those who helped her take part in the “Together for Palestine” event, despite the event conflicting with production work on Avengers: Doomsday.
“Children Are Still Dying”
Pugh said that Palestinian suffering is still ongoing, adding: “Children are still dying, and mothers are still in pain. It is truly horrific to witness all this suffering while our lives seem to carry on as normal.”
She also spoke about the difficulty of dealing with this contrast on social media, saying: “How can I say that I’m having a wonderful time when, in the post immediately before it, I see a child without a mother or a father?”
The “Together for Palestine” event, in which Pugh participated, raised more than $2 million for humanitarian organizations.
A number of artists and musicians took part in the event, including Gorillaz, King Krule, Brian Eno, PinkPantheress, Cat Burns, Bastille, James Blake, and Sampha, among others.
Concluding her remarks at the event, Pugh said: “Compassion should not be this difficult, and it never should have been,” adding: “I’ll leave that message with you. Enjoy the rest of your evening, put pressure on governments, and thank you for being here.”
