WEBVTT 00:00.531 --> 00:04.714 [SPEAKER_00]: Hey everyone, welcome back to Room for Us, a space to work with your voices thrive. 00:05.194 --> 00:11.097 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host P and every single week, I like to sit down, get vulnerable, and talk about all things queer with all of you. 00:12.058 --> 00:15.940 [SPEAKER_00]: So I just wanted to first say that I'm kind of coming off a bit of a cold. 00:16.040 --> 00:20.102 [SPEAKER_00]: It's still here, unfortunately, and there's nothing worse than feeling really sick. 00:20.662 --> 00:21.723 [SPEAKER_00]: when the weather is really nice. 00:22.083 --> 00:24.124 [SPEAKER_00]: So that is why I'm going to be off-camera. 00:24.144 --> 00:32.569 [SPEAKER_00]: There's not going to be like a long-form video posted to YouTube, but I still really wanted to get an episode out, especially for this topic. 00:32.829 --> 00:33.650 [SPEAKER_00]: It's so important. 00:34.130 --> 00:39.754 [SPEAKER_00]: And coming off my real, I posted on my Instagram and my TikTok about pink. 00:40.654 --> 00:43.416 [SPEAKER_00]: A bunch of us have probably heard at this point that the musician pink. 00:43.916 --> 00:56.979 [SPEAKER_00]: had reposted this video by this, like, stop anti-Semitism group, which was basically criticizing Macklemore for saying free Palestine during his opening set at a recent Ed Sheeran concert. 00:58.019 --> 01:06.541 [SPEAKER_00]: And, listen, I voiced my concerns about this around pink and hypocrisy of what I feel she's doing and how she's positioned herself. 01:07.401 --> 01:22.737 [SPEAKER_00]: in the media in the past, especially having songs like Dear Mr. President, but then I also look at how she has spoken about other women, like her other peers in the music industry and how she was bringing them down, just women in media in general, even in the song Stupid Girl. 01:22.817 --> 01:25.020 [SPEAKER_00]: So if you want to check out my real, that is there. 01:25.560 --> 01:39.370 [SPEAKER_00]: But, you know, speaking of pink and how disappointing this is and her policies and not only hurtful, but harmful, I really wanted to talk about the celebrities who have been vocal about Palestine. 01:39.390 --> 01:46.795 [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of us do look at these figures people in the media and we really listen to them. 01:46.915 --> 01:47.656 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what I mean? 01:48.096 --> 01:53.540 [SPEAKER_00]: Some people say like, why do we pay so much attention to this type of news or celebrity news? 01:55.221 --> 01:57.343 [SPEAKER_00]: There was a creator who brought up a really good point. 01:58.223 --> 02:02.066 [SPEAKER_00]: I think being a celebrity does mean using your voice. 02:02.186 --> 02:03.647 [SPEAKER_00]: It means using your platform. 02:04.188 --> 02:08.771 [SPEAKER_00]: And when you're silent, that actually says a lot more about your stance. 02:09.171 --> 02:13.174 [SPEAKER_00]: People just deserve freedom and love and equality and peace. 02:13.234 --> 02:14.775 [SPEAKER_00]: This should not be happening. 02:14.935 --> 02:21.220 [SPEAKER_00]: And I think it just takes anyone with any ounce of empathy to understand that. 02:21.660 --> 02:29.545 [SPEAKER_00]: That's what this episode is going to be about, honestly, everything is political and I think if someone is to say, well, why is Merkel more coming out with this speech? 02:29.625 --> 02:31.226 [SPEAKER_00]: Concerts aren't meant to be political. 02:31.447 --> 02:33.048 [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, they really are. 02:33.128 --> 02:37.470 [SPEAKER_00]: There's politics and everything we do and especially in music and in art. 02:37.751 --> 02:47.077 [SPEAKER_00]: Being famous and saying something political isn't free, though, and that's why I also want to acknowledge these very brave people who have come out and spoken out because 02:47.857 --> 02:59.970 [SPEAKER_00]: This does cost people their gigs, it costs them vans, which you know, the fans are what gives them that livelihood, and it can also cause them safety, which is very, very scary. 03:00.170 --> 03:02.672 [SPEAKER_00]: But I really admire the people who still do it anyway. 03:03.373 --> 03:10.139 [SPEAKER_00]: and they've been doing it for years now, and I just want to make sure they're getting credit for actively using their voice. 03:10.679 --> 03:14.502 [SPEAKER_00]: So I only handpicked a few in particular, but I know there are so many more. 03:14.582 --> 03:17.204 [SPEAKER_00]: So we're going to get into it as we continue to discuss. 03:17.605 --> 03:24.911 [SPEAKER_00]: And as I continue to do more research, maybe I can really like a part two of this episode, because of course, let's never stop talking about it. 03:25.391 --> 03:28.914 [SPEAKER_00]: I never want to stop talking about the freedom for Palestinians. 03:29.194 --> 03:30.535 [SPEAKER_00]: So this is what this 03:32.597 --> 03:44.901 [SPEAKER_00]: So in this episode, I'm going to be speaking about Kaylani, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Melissa Barra, Angelina Jolie, and of course most recently, Macklemore for his speech at the Ed Sheeran Concert. 03:45.941 --> 03:49.262 [SPEAKER_00]: And what their advocacy has actually looked like. 03:49.802 --> 03:55.784 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not like, oh, they just posted something to check off a box, you know, they are the actual arch of it. 03:55.864 --> 03:57.244 [SPEAKER_00]: So let's get into this episode. 03:58.144 --> 03:59.625 [SPEAKER_00]: First up, we do have Kaylani. 04:00.725 --> 04:05.647 [SPEAKER_00]: If you don't know the story, back in June of 2024, Keilani did something very bold. 04:06.407 --> 04:13.570 [SPEAKER_00]: She took her song, the song next to you, and made the music video a full pro Palestine statement. 04:14.090 --> 04:19.352 [SPEAKER_00]: The music video was her and a group of dancers and Kefias dancing in front of Palestinian flags. 04:19.832 --> 04:29.275 [SPEAKER_00]: And instead of just naming the song and moving on, you know, doing it and then stopping the video, she put a list of names in the video of the people who were killed in Gaza. 04:29.355 --> 04:34.517 [SPEAKER_00]: I think they did it in the description where you could access that because she said it was too long. 04:35.117 --> 04:36.298 [SPEAKER_00]: The list you would be scrolling. 04:36.758 --> 04:39.619 [SPEAKER_00]: She said, please read it at your own pace. 04:40.379 --> 04:41.259 [SPEAKER_00]: Please sit with this. 04:41.500 --> 04:42.780 [SPEAKER_00]: Do not just scroll past. 04:43.080 --> 04:47.602 [SPEAKER_00]: And what got me about that moment wasn't just the video, it was what she had set around it. 04:48.402 --> 04:56.886 [SPEAKER_00]: After the strike on the displacement camps in Rafa and May of that year, she posted something on Instagram basically calling out the music industry for staying quiet. 04:57.407 --> 05:01.228 [SPEAKER_00]: She said this was going to be something people referenced for the rest of forever. 05:01.789 --> 05:04.590 [SPEAKER_00]: That's not a small thing to say publicly as a working artist. 05:06.170 --> 05:07.992 [SPEAKER_00]: And here's the part that I think matters the most. 05:08.773 --> 05:11.936 [SPEAKER_00]: This was not consequence free for Kaylani. 05:12.496 --> 05:16.500 [SPEAKER_00]: In 2025, she got pulled from the lineup of Cornell Slope Day. 05:16.941 --> 05:21.605 [SPEAKER_00]: That's their big end of semester events, specifically because of her public support for Palestine. 05:22.106 --> 05:23.907 [SPEAKER_00]: And a bunch of Jewish organizations. 05:24.648 --> 05:31.558 [SPEAKER_00]: plus UC San Diego pulled out of San Diego pride that same year because they set her comments where anti-Semitic. 05:32.078 --> 05:34.702 [SPEAKER_00]: She's definitely pushed back hard on that characterization. 05:35.243 --> 05:41.551 [SPEAKER_00]: Her position has basically been, don't conflict criticism of a government's actions with hatred of people. 05:42.152 --> 05:46.055 [SPEAKER_00]: that's a real ongoing tension and it's definitely not simple. 05:46.596 --> 05:54.342 [SPEAKER_00]: But what I keep coming back to is that Kaylani kept going and shouldn't quietly step back once, you know, maybe she started losing some bookings. 05:54.962 --> 05:56.524 [SPEAKER_00]: Next, let's get into Dua Lipa. 05:57.404 --> 06:02.388 [SPEAKER_00]: And honestly, Dua has been consistent for the longest stretch of time with her beliefs. 06:03.129 --> 06:10.136 [SPEAKER_00]: Back in October 2023, right when everything was really escalating, she signed onto an open letter to President Biden. 06:10.796 --> 06:17.903 [SPEAKER_00]: She was in that group with Killer Mike, Caroline Pollachack, a bunch of others, basically asking the US to push for an immediate ceasefire. 06:17.983 --> 06:20.786 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm going to paraphrase here before more lives were lost. 06:21.046 --> 06:25.410 [SPEAKER_00]: Then in 2024, she did this big Rolling Stone cover interview and 06:28.813 --> 06:35.276 [SPEAKER_00]: Her parents left Kazovo during the Bosnian War, so she grew up hearing about what it means to be displaced from your home. 06:36.056 --> 06:42.279 [SPEAKER_00]: She said something in that interview about her existence is kind of political just by the nature of her family's history. 06:42.900 --> 06:43.840 [SPEAKER_00]: And she was careful. 06:43.940 --> 06:48.422 [SPEAKER_00]: She made it clear she doesn't condone what Hamas has done, every life is precious to her. 06:48.983 --> 06:56.146 [SPEAKER_00]: Her words, but she also said pretty plainly that not enough world leaders are stepping up on the humanitarian side of this. 06:58.688 --> 07:02.573 [SPEAKER_00]: After the Rafa strikes on the displacement camps, she posted again. 07:03.074 --> 07:10.304 [SPEAKER_00]: This time calling for an end to what she described as Israeli genocide, tagging it with artists for ceasefire and all lies on Rafa. 07:10.524 --> 07:14.569 [SPEAKER_00]: And there's an earlier chapter in this too that I think is worth mentioning. 07:15.370 --> 07:25.720 [SPEAKER_00]: Back in 2021, the New York Times ran a full-page ad accusing her, along with Bella and Gigi Hadid, of anti-Semitism for supporting Palestinian rights. 07:26.440 --> 07:27.321 [SPEAKER_00]: She didn't back down. 07:27.762 --> 07:35.128 [SPEAKER_00]: She rejected the accusation publicly, and she actually had the papers editor at the time, come on to her own podcast to talk through. 07:36.029 --> 07:44.862 [SPEAKER_00]: That's, I mean, that takes a certain amount of nerve to invite the people criticizing you onto your show instead of just posting a statement and moving on. 07:45.483 --> 07:46.785 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's talk about Billie Eilish. 07:47.426 --> 07:50.350 [SPEAKER_00]: Billie Eilish made a statement in a very symbolic way. 07:51.051 --> 07:52.493 [SPEAKER_00]: at the 2024 Oscars. 07:52.933 --> 07:58.239 [SPEAKER_00]: She and her brother Phineas wore these red pins on the carpet from a group called Artist for Seas Fire. 07:58.260 --> 08:08.832 [SPEAKER_00]: It was a pin, but it was next to Mark Ruffalo, Ramey Usive, Ava Du Verne, a whole cluster of people making the same statement at the same time on one of the biggest stages in entertainment. 08:09.492 --> 08:14.037 [SPEAKER_00]: Fast forward to summer 2025, she was still not quiet about it at all. 08:14.297 --> 08:24.787 [SPEAKER_00]: There were reports that Israel was planning to relocate hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians and to what officials were calling a humanitarian city built on the ruins of Brafah. 08:25.588 --> 08:27.309 [SPEAKER_00]: Ilyesh shared it on our Instagram. 08:28.210 --> 08:31.131 [SPEAKER_00]: and summed up for reaction in one word, horrifying. 08:31.612 --> 08:39.455 [SPEAKER_00]: And then just this past September 2025, she showed up in a video ahead of the together for Palestine Benefit, concert in London. 08:39.675 --> 08:44.898 [SPEAKER_00]: She's in it with Sillian Murphy, walking Phoenix, have your bottom, a whole lineup of people. 08:45.398 --> 08:49.220 [SPEAKER_00]: And she and Vinnie say the words together for Palestine straight to the camera. 08:49.719 --> 08:52.842 [SPEAKER_00]: I love that Billy has always been making a statement throughout the years. 08:53.062 --> 08:58.387 [SPEAKER_00]: She's making her statement known by wearing the pen, but then standing in front of a camera saying it with her own voice. 08:58.727 --> 09:01.489 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not louder because she suddenly discovered the issue. 09:01.910 --> 09:05.953 [SPEAKER_00]: It's louder because she kept paying attention and kept escalating what she was willing to say. 09:06.154 --> 09:06.994 [SPEAKER_00]: She never stopped. 09:07.395 --> 09:16.242 [SPEAKER_00]: Melissa Barra, I want to spend some time on this because her story is probably a very clear example in this episode of what this can actually cause someone to speak up. 09:17.323 --> 09:21.546 [SPEAKER_00]: Back in November 2023, Barrao was dropped from Screen Seppin. 09:21.786 --> 09:26.129 [SPEAKER_00]: This was after she'd already starred in the 2022 screen reboot and screen six. 09:26.549 --> 09:44.700 [SPEAKER_00]: Spyglass Media, the studio behind the franchise, set her social media posts about the Israel Hamas conflict, crossed into hate speech, and that they put out a statement saying they had, quote, zero tolerance for anti-Semitism or the incitement of hate in any form. 09:45.440 --> 09:48.421 [SPEAKER_00]: Barerra pushed back on that characterization directly. 09:48.921 --> 09:58.965 [SPEAKER_00]: She posted a statement saying she condemns anti-Semitism in Islamophobia both that she believes a group of people are not their leadership and that she'll keep speaking out. 09:59.586 --> 10:00.966 [SPEAKER_00]: She ended it with one line. 10:01.626 --> 10:05.088 [SPEAKER_00]: Silence is not an option for me and that is so important. 10:05.528 --> 10:17.771 [SPEAKER_00]: Her firing set off a chain reaction, her co-star Jenna Ortega exit the project the very next day, and the director, Christopher Landon, eventually walked away too, saying the job had turned into what he called a nightmare. 10:18.632 --> 10:29.875 [SPEAKER_00]: And then two years later, in August of 26, she went on the Latino USA podcast and said flat out, she'd been blacklisted, not just from that franchise, but from 10:31.775 --> 10:39.404 [SPEAKER_00]: She talked about how a lot of people lost jobs, not just an entertainment, for basically saying Palestinians deserve human rights and shouldn't be bombed. 10:39.944 --> 10:44.850 [SPEAKER_00]: When screams seven actually premiered earlier this year, there were protesters outside holding signs. 10:45.290 --> 10:49.195 [SPEAKER_00]: That said, Paramount has a blacklist of actors who criticize Israel. 10:49.655 --> 10:51.216 [SPEAKER_00]: This is someone's job. 10:51.416 --> 11:00.179 [SPEAKER_00]: This is multiple people's jobs, and she is still fighting for it because she cares, and years later, on this podcast, I mean, this was just last month, unprompted. 11:00.739 --> 11:04.940 [SPEAKER_00]: She still is doubling down on her beliefs, and that's a level of commitment. 11:05.400 --> 11:06.941 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think that's talked about enough. 11:07.461 --> 11:09.142 [SPEAKER_00]: Next up we have Angelina Jolie. 11:09.702 --> 11:10.683 [SPEAKER_00]: I love Angelina. 11:11.103 --> 11:16.966 [SPEAKER_00]: I wanted to include her because she's been doing this work and some form for over two decades. 11:17.466 --> 11:21.088 [SPEAKER_00]: She's always been an active voice and I really want to give her credit for that. 11:21.928 --> 11:25.950 [SPEAKER_00]: Angelina spent more than 20 years as a UN goodwill ambassador. 11:26.750 --> 11:30.072 [SPEAKER_00]: and special envoy for the refugee agency. 11:30.532 --> 11:36.014 [SPEAKER_00]: So when October 7th happened and the war in Gaza started, she wasn't coming at this cold. 11:36.395 --> 11:41.457 [SPEAKER_00]: This is someone whose entire public identity has been tied to displaced people. 11:41.657 --> 11:47.419 [SPEAKER_00]: Just weeks after the war began in October 2023, she posted a long statement on Instagram. 11:47.940 --> 11:55.283 [SPEAKER_00]: She said what happened in Israel was an act of terror, but that it couldn't justify the number of innocent lives lost in the bombing. 11:55.743 --> 11:58.927 [SPEAKER_00]: of a civilian population in Gaza that had nowhere to go. 11:59.467 --> 12:04.652 [SPEAKER_00]: She said Palestinian and Israeli lives in all the lives of people globally, matter equally. 12:05.293 --> 12:07.315 [SPEAKER_00]: And she didn't just post once and move on. 12:07.736 --> 12:18.667 [SPEAKER_00]: In April 2025, she reshared a statement from doctors without borders, describing Gaza as a mass grave, her words repeating theirs, and called on Israeli authorities to lift the siege. 12:19.127 --> 12:28.122 [SPEAKER_00]: Reports also place her visiting the Rafa border crossing on the Egyptian side, meeting with aid workers, and red crescent volunteers directly, not just posting from home. 12:28.882 --> 12:32.364 [SPEAKER_00]: What gets me a lot about Angelina's story specifically is the personal cost. 12:32.884 --> 12:34.025 [SPEAKER_00]: It's about her own family. 12:34.285 --> 12:42.569 [SPEAKER_00]: Her father, John Voitt, publicly criticized her for it, telling a reporter she'd been exposed to propaganda and influenced by anti-Semitic people. 12:42.809 --> 12:45.010 [SPEAKER_00]: That's genuinely painful kind of backlash. 12:45.150 --> 12:48.872 [SPEAKER_00]: It's your own dad on record, coming out and coming out against you. 12:49.652 --> 12:52.393 [SPEAKER_00]: And Variety, she did keep going anyway. 12:52.834 --> 12:59.777 [SPEAKER_00]: They're even reports that she's been looking into building a shelter for orphan children and Gaza as part of long-term rebuilding efforts. 13:00.497 --> 13:02.918 [SPEAKER_00]: Two decades of humanitarian credibility. 13:03.719 --> 13:10.202 [SPEAKER_00]: This public rift with John Voitt her father and Angelina Jolie is still actively using her voice and showing up. 13:10.982 --> 13:19.368 [SPEAKER_00]: That is a real kind of consistency and I'm very grateful for it, especially as Angelina has such a huge platform and has for many many years. 13:20.779 --> 13:27.384 [SPEAKER_00]: If I really had more time to keep talking about Macklemore, I would really, really love to and maybe I'll do a full episode on him. 13:28.265 --> 13:42.796 [SPEAKER_00]: His 2024 song, Hins Hall, was named after the Columbia Building Student Protesters occupied and renamed after a six year old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, and he donated all the streaming proceeds to a Palestinian refugee relief agency. 13:43.877 --> 14:04.105 [SPEAKER_00]: And, of course, as we know, he was so looking forward to reaching Ed Sheeran's fans at this large concert and using that time right before his hall to speak his truth and to say all human beings existing on this earth. 14:05.185 --> 14:07.026 [SPEAKER_00]: We deserve freedom. 14:07.106 --> 14:08.747 [SPEAKER_00]: We do not own this earth. 14:08.847 --> 14:11.968 [SPEAKER_00]: We are here for a visit and I thought that was very, very powerful. 14:18.278 --> 14:20.520 [SPEAKER_01]: I said three power songs. 14:20.540 --> 14:21.220 [SPEAKER_01]: I said three power songs. 14:27.764 --> 14:43.994 [SPEAKER_01]: A big part of the reason why I wanted to do is to work in the first place, and so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart. 14:46.716 --> 14:47.757 [SPEAKER_01]: Free power style. 14:52.674 --> 15:05.453 [SPEAKER_00]: for people who got offended by what he said, Malcolm or even said to his Jewish attendees, this is in no way criticism of you being anti-genocide is not attacking Jewish people. 15:05.793 --> 15:07.215 [SPEAKER_00]: So, this is, 15:08.197 --> 15:12.181 [SPEAKER_00]: My thoughts, and I really just wanted to amplify and continue to lift these voices. 15:12.621 --> 15:17.246 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, Kaylani, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Melissa Barara, Angelina Jolie, Macklemore. 15:17.626 --> 15:19.408 [SPEAKER_00]: They're all coming from different approaches. 15:19.829 --> 15:24.393 [SPEAKER_00]: They're spreading awareness through a song, a decade of consistent public statements. 15:25.134 --> 15:27.317 [SPEAKER_00]: tie to her own family history from Dua. 15:27.678 --> 15:36.671 [SPEAKER_00]: Starting with the pin that became a full public video, a firing that turned into an ongoing years later refusal to stay quiet about it. 15:37.492 --> 15:41.218 [SPEAKER_00]: Two decades of humanitarian work in a public rift with her own father. 15:41.678 --> 15:46.342 [SPEAKER_00]: But the one thing that ties all of these people together for me is that none of this was risk-free. 15:46.763 --> 15:59.274 [SPEAKER_00]: They all had something to lose, you know, like bookings, fans, brand deals, family relationships, but they still said something anyway because you know their empathy is there, they have empathy for other humans. 15:59.914 --> 16:05.097 [SPEAKER_00]: But I would love to know if there's anyone else you want me to do a deep dive on on who has been actively using their voice. 16:05.797 --> 16:11.080 [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, just someone I missed because I would like to create another version of this episode. 16:11.240 --> 16:18.844 [SPEAKER_00]: I think this is so important and I will never stop talking about it and also using my own platform to vocalize, but I believe in. 16:19.124 --> 16:21.365 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for listening as always. 16:22.025 --> 16:26.768 [SPEAKER_00]: And thank you for being patient with me as well as I'm kind of fighting this cold, so I know this couldn't be. 16:27.588 --> 16:28.650 [SPEAKER_00]: a very long episode. 16:29.031 --> 16:30.795 [SPEAKER_00]: But I appreciate you always. 16:31.156 --> 16:34.924 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for listening to this podcast and I will catch you all next week.