Annie Lennox called for a ceasefire in Gaza during her tribute to Sinéad O’Connor at the Grammys.
After performing “Nothing Compares to U” on Sunday, the singer became the first artist to call for a ceasefire in Gaza at a major awards show this year.
“Artists for a ceasefire. Peace in the world,” Lennox said with her fist in the air, as an image of O’Connor displayed in the background.
Fans celebrated the Eurythmics icon for making the bold statement and honoring O’Connor in the “most meaningful and honest way.” O’Connor, who was also known for speaking up, famously ripped an image of the Pope to call out the Catholic church’s approach to clergy child sex abuse while performing on Saturday Night Live in 1992.
Several other artists joined on the calls for peace in Gaza on the Grammys red carpet. The members of Boygenius — Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker — wore pins with the logo for Artists Call for Ceasefire Now, the name of a petition sent to Joe Biden and signed by numerous musicians and actors. Esperanza Spalding showed her support for Palestine as well by wearing a kaffiyeh.
The Palestine-Israel conflict was top of mind for many attendees, as protestors blocked streets surrounding the Crypto.com Arena to call for peace. “Right now: Hundreds in LA rally and prepare to march outside the Grammy Awards for Palestine. A little rain won’t deter the movement!” the Party for Socialism and Liberation wrote in an X post.
The moment at the Grammys is a departure from Hollywood, which has penalized folks for voicing their support of a ceasefire.” Melissa Barrera was dropped from her upcoming lead role in Scream VII after sharing multiple Instagram stories in support of Palestine and reposting one message that accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing.” The film’s production company, Spyglass Media Group, said in a statement, “We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”
In late October, a number of A-listers — Joaquin Phoenix, Cate Blanchett, Drake, Ben Affleck, Channing Tatum, Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, Dua Lipa, Kristen Stewart, Tom Hardy, Jennifer Lopez, and Jon Stewart among them — signed an open letter to President Biden calling for a ceasefire.
“We ask that, as President of the United States, you and the U.S. Congress call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost,” the letter read. “More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.”
