At the 2026 Oscars, artists used the stage and red carpet to call attention to global conflicts and human rights. Spanish actor Javier Bardem called for peace and Palestinian freedom onstage before presenting best international feature film.
Presenting the Oscar for best international film, Bardem began his remarks at the podium by saying "No to war" and "Free Palestine.”
The actor appeared wearing a pin with the Spanish phrase "No a la guerra,” meaning "No to war,” along with another one supporting Palestine.
Israel launched a genocide on Gaza in October 2023 that lasted two years and has since continued in various forms, killing more than 72,000 Palestinians, wounding 172,000 and destroying 90% of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure.
A few artists protested more than just the Trump administration's immigration policies on Hollywood's biggest night.
The presence of "BE GOOD” and "ICE OUT” pins at the Academy Awards paled in comparison to last month's Grammys. But those who did wear protest apparel used Sunday's red carpet to also advocate for Palestinian liberation and a cease-fire amid the fragile situation in Gaza, adding to the growing artist-driven activism at entertainment awards shows.
As Hollywood's awards season comes to a close with the Oscars, political organizers suggested that celebrities found their political voices more this cycle than in recent years. Maremoto Executive Director Jess Morales Rocketto, whose Latino advocacy group was behind the immigration pins that debuted at the Golden Globes, called it a "return to form” for artists' political engagement.
She credited comments by Mark Ruffalo on the Golden Globes red carpet in January. The actor, who is often outspoken, told Entertainment Tonight that "as much as I love all this” he found it difficult to pretend "like this crazy stuff isn't happening.”
"I think we tapped into something early on that this is a time to take stands and make clear where you are at this moment in history,” Morales Rocketto said ahead of Sunday's Oscars.
On Sunday, attendees representing "The Voice of Hind Rajab” wore a new red "Artists4Ceasefire” pin. The docudrama, which follows efforts to rescue a Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, was nominated for best international feature film.
Israeli strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians since a U.S.-brokered truce went into effect in October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
"Our struggles are connected. So is our liberation. And we're so, so honored to be here tonight,” Saja Kilani, one of the film's stars, told The Associated Press on the red carpet.
The content of Sunday's ceremony proved more political than previous years - even if it lacked direct references to the Iran war and other global issues. "One Battle After Another” director Paul Thomas Anderson said he wrote the political drama for his children to apologize for the "housekeeping mess we left in this world we’re handing off to them.”
Host Conan O'Brien cracked jokes at the expense of the U.S. health care system and Kid Rock, referring to conservative organization Turning Point USA's alternative Super Bowl halftime show.
In a rare moment of sincerity, O’Brien said the Oscars are particularly resonant in "moments like these,” nodding broadly at the many different world crises.
"We pay tribute tonight not just to film, but to the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience and that rarest of qualities today: optimism,” he said.
The best documentary category, whose nominees tend to contain more overt political messages, brought more social commentary. David Borenstein, one of the "Mr. Nobody Against Putin” directors, said the documentary is about "how you lose your country.”
That happens through "countless small little acts of complicity” such as "when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities” or when "oligarchs take over the media,” Borenstein said.
"We all face a moral choice, but luckily, even a nobody is more powerful than you think,” he said.
Other advocacy groups used the hubbub of the show to draw attention to their causes. Pushing against corporate media consolation, Free Press had a mobile billboard circling the Dolby Theater to protest Paramount Skydance's likely takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Morales Rocketto acknowledged that no one pin will create the systemic change to U.S. immigration policy that she seeks. But she likened each individual action to "droplets” in the "giant ocean that we are trying to move.”
"This only happens if stars say yes, if stars decide to use their platform, if they decide that they want to make statements that go beyond, ‘What am I wearing,’” she said. "I don’t take that for granted. It’s a big move for people to say that.”
