On an Emmys program that mostly avoided overt politics on Sunday, there were glimpses of Hollywood’s progressive bent, including calls of support for Palestinians and boos for Washington’s defunding of public broadcasting.
While accepting an Emmy for her role in “Hacks,” Hannah Einbinder punctuated her speech with “Free Palestine” while wearing a red pin on her gown that signals a call for a cease-fire. (She also threw in an expletive for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which was censored from the telecast.)
Earlier, on the red carpet, Javier Bardem wore a kaffiyeh around his neck and said “Free Palestine,” voicing support for a “commercial and diplomatic blockade and sanctions on Israel to stop the genocide.”
Celebrities have been making statements about the war at awards shows since Israel’s military invaded Gaza after Hamas’s attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.
Several other actors — including Ruth Negga, Chris Perfetti and Aimee Lou Wood — also wore red cease-fire pins, and Megan Stalter carried a black bag that prominently featured a piece of paper reading “CEASE FIRE!” Stalter, an actress in “Hacks,” told Variety before the ceremony, “What’s the point of being at these big events if you’re not going to use your privilege?”
Mentions of the country’s charged political climate were spare; the murder of Charlie Kirk, the influential conservative political activist whose assassination last week has inflamed political divisions, was never addressed.
Cris Abrego, the chairman of the Television Academy, did pointedly mention one piece of domestic policy: the federal government’s cancellation of about $1.1 billion in funds that were earmarked for public broadcasting.
The audience erupted in boos after Abrego mentioned that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which was created in 1967 to distribute federal allocations, had announced plans to shut down next year because of the drop in funding.
“In moments like this, neutrality is not enough,” Abrego said. “We must be voices for connection, inclusion, empathy.”
In remarks that could be read as a reference to the Trump administration’s intervention in cultural institutions in his second term, Abrego said that “culture doesn’t come from the top down — it rises from the bottom up.”
Julia Jacobs is an arts and culture reporter who often covers legal issues for The Times.
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