Dua Lipa graces the February cover of Rolling Stone, where she discusses kicking off a new era in her life and with her album, and she also opens up about why she is taking a stand politically over the Israel-Hamas war, calling for a “humanitarian cease-fire.”
“My existence is kind of political, the fact that I lived in London because my parents left from the war,” the singer, who was born to Albanian parents in London, said. “I feel for people who have to leave their home. From my experience of being in Kosovo and understanding what war does, no one really wants to leave their home. They do it for protection, to save their family, to look after the people around them, that kind of thing, for a better life. So I feel close to it.”
“My feelings on displaced people [are] very real and raw, and it is a difficult subject to speak about because it’s so divisive,” she added.
“I feel so bad for every Israeli life lost and what happened on Oct. 7,” she said of the Hamas terrorist attacks, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis. Shortly afterward, Lipa signed an open letter alongside several other celebrities which asked President Biden to “call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost” and also called for the release of hostages. Stars such as Ayo Edebiri, Michael Stipe, Jon Stewart, Jessica Chastain, Cate Blanchett, and Joaquin Phoenix also signed the letter.
“At the moment, what we have to look at is how many lives have been lost in Gaza, and the innocent civilians, and the lives that are just being lost. There are just not enough world leaders that are taking a stand and speaking up about the humanitarian crisis that’s happening, the humanitarian cease-fire that has to happen,” Lipa told Rolling Stone.
In 2021, The New York Times ran a full-page ad from Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and the World Values Network accusing Lipa and other celebrities of antisemitism for their support of Palestinian liberation. Lipa condemned the organization’s accusations — as well as the paper for running the ad — on social media. Lipa invite then-Times editor Dean Baquet on to her podcast to discuss the “damaging and potentially dangerous” ad. She told Rolling Stone she felt that she was “put in danger.”
“I was put in a place where my core values were completely flipped on its head, and that really hurt because I feel like when I do want to speak about something, I hope that people will see it for what it is and that there is no malicious intent,” she added.
