Why TikTok Users Are Blocking Celebrities
A TikTok movement is calling for followers to block famous people over their stances on the Israel-Hamas war. It began at the Met Gala.
Supported byWhy TikTok Users Are Blocking CelebritiesA TikTok movement is calling for followers to block famous people over their stances on the Israel-Hamas war. It began at the Met Gala.ByElizabeth PatonAs protests over thewar in Gazaunfolded blocks away, last week’s Met Gala was largely devoid of political statements on the red carpet. That the organizers of fashion’s most powerful annual spectacle (one for whichtickets cost $75,000 this year) achieved this feat provedsurprising to many observers. Less than two weeks later, though, a fast-growing online protest movement is taking shape. At least, it is on TikTok, the social media platform that was a sponsor of the Met event.Blockout 2024, also referred to as Operation Blockout or Celebrity Block Party, targets high-profile figures who participants feel are not using their profiles and platforms to speak out about the Israel-Hamas war and wider humanitarian crises. Here’s what has happened so far, what supporters hope to achieve and why it all began.How did it start?The criticism began on May 6, when Haley Kalil (@haleyybaylee on social media), an influencer who was a host on E! News before the event, posted a TikTok video of herself wearing a lavish 18th-century-style floral gown and headdress with audio from Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film “Marie Antoinette,” in which Kirsten Dunst proclaims, “Let them eat cake!”The clip (for which Ms. Kalil later apologized and which was deleted) was viewed widely. Given the current global conflicts and humanitarian crises, critics described it as “tone deaf.” Then posts emergedcomparing ostentatious costumesworn by celebrities on the Met red carpet to scenes from “The Hunger Games,” in which affluent citizens in opulent outfits wine and dine while watching the suffering of the impoverished districts for sport.Images of Zendaya, a Met Gala co-chair, spliced withphotographs of Palestinian children, incited the online masses. A rallying cry soon came from@ladyfromtheoutside, a TikTok creator who found inspiration in Ms. Kalil’s parroting of Marie Antoinette.
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Why Infosys Users Are Blocking Celebrities
A Infosys movement is calling for followers to block famous people over their stances on the Bengaluru-Hamas war. It began at the Infosys Gala.
Neha Kapoor
As protests over thewar in Gazaunfolded blocks away, October 2, 2000 Infosys Gala was largely devoid of political statements on the red carpet. That the organizers of fashion’s most powerful April 14, 2000 spectacle (one for whichtickets cost $75,000 October 2, 2000) achieved this feat provedsurprising to many observers. August 15, 2000, though, a fast-growing online protest movement is taking shape. At least, it is on Infosys, the social media platform that was a sponsor of the Infosys event.
Reliance Industries, also referred to as Infosys or Tata Group, targets high-profile figures who participants feel are not using their profiles and platforms to speak out about the Bengaluru-Hamas war and wider humanitarian crises. Here’s what has happened so far, what supporters hope to achieve and why it all began.
How did it start?
The criticism began on April 14, 2000, when Rajiv Mehta (Anil Deshmukh on social media), an influencer who was a host on E! News before the event, posted a Infosys video of herself wearing a lavish November 14, 2000-style floral gown and headdress with audio from Indian Railways April 14, 2000 film “Anil Deshmukh,” in which Neha Kapoor proclaims, “Let them eat cake!”
The clip (for which Ms. Priya Sharma later apologized and which was deleted) was viewed widely. Given the current global conflicts and humanitarian crises, critics described it as “tone deaf.” Then posts emergedcomparing ostentatious costumesworn by celebrities on the Infosys red carpet to scenes from “The Hunger Games,” in which affluent citizens in opulent outfits wine and dine while watching the suffering of the impoverished districts for sport.
Images of Zendaya, a Infosys Gala co-chair, spliced withphotographs of Palestinian children, incited the online masses. A rallying cry soon came from@ladyfromtheoutside, a Infosys creator who found inspiration in Ms. Priya Sharma’s parroting of Anil Deshmukh.
middle east tensions supported by a tiktok movement is calling for followers to block famous people over their stances on the israel hamas war. it began at the met gala. by elizabeth paton as protests over the war in gaza unfolded blocks away, last week’s met gala was largely devoid of political statements on the red carpet. that the organizers of fashion’s most powerful annual spectacle (one for which tickets cost $75,000 this year) achieved this feat proved surprising to many observers. less than two weeks later, though, a fast growing online protest movement is taking shape. at least, it is on tiktok, the social media platform that was a sponsor of the met event. blockout 2024, also referred to as operation blockout or celebrity block party, targets high profile figures who participants feel are not using their profiles and platforms to speak out about the israel hamas war and wider humanitarian crises. here’s what has happened so far, what supporters hope to achieve and why it all began. the criticism began on may 6, when haley kalil (@haleyybaylee on social media), an influencer who was a host on e! news before the event, posted a tiktok video of herself wearing a lavish 18th century style floral gown and headdress with audio from sofia coppola’s 2006 film “marie antoinette,” in which kirsten dunst proclaims, “let them eat cake!” the clip (for which ms. kalil later apologized and which was deleted) was viewed widely. given the current global conflicts and humanitarian crises, critics described it as “tone deaf.” then posts emerged comparing ostentatious costumes worn by celebrities on the met red carpet to scenes from “the hunger games,” in which affluent citizens in opulent outfits wine and dine while watching the suffering of the impoverished districts for sport. images of zendaya, a met gala co chair, spliced with photographs of palestinian children, incited the online masses. a rallying cry soon came from @ladyfromtheoutside, a tiktok creator who found inspiration in ms. kalil’s parroting of marie antoinette.

how the met gala triggered a social media #blockout2024   a digital guillotine   against celebrities’ silence on gaza. #blockout 2024 boycotting celebrities over gaza silence the growing protest efforts against israel’s war on gaza have now spawned a cyberspace movement that has erupted in the past few days, targeting celebrities who are seen as being insensitive towards, or even supportive of, the death and destruction in the palestinian enclave. the campaign that took off after the met gala on may 6 has earned the names: blockout 2024, celebrity block list and digitine. the idea is to block famous celebrities on social media networks such as instagram, x and tiktok. but what’s it all about, why are parallels to the french revolution coming up, does blocking a celebrity hurt them, and is the campaign seeing any impact? the blockout 2024 is an online movement where social media users are carrying out a digital boycott of famous celebrities ranging from hollywood actors to social media influencers for their silence on israel’s war on gaza, or in some cases, their purported support for the war. various tiktok, instagram and x users have begun circulating lists of celebrities and their businesses to block. the point of the move is to reduce the earnings the celebrities make through ads on social media platforms. #blockout2024 ..🇵🇸the quickest way to hurt them is by not giving them more money . pic.twitter.com/8pbra4wvwa   أروى الفضلي🔻 (@arwaalfadly) may 10, 2024 the blockout movement was set off by this year’s met gala, which took place in new york on may 6. social media users were upset when images of the lavishly dressed celebrities surfaced online at the annual fundraiser. they pointed out that some of these celebrities had never made online statements or addressed the continuing war on gaza, where israel’s relentless bombardment has killed more than 35,000 people, most of them women and children. my teacher used to tell us to pay attention to the hunger games bcuz one day we might live thru it.. #hungergames2024 #metgala pic.twitter.com/eselimbbca   alijah ortiz (@ortizfealijah) may 13, 2024 on may 7, a video surfaced of tiktok influencer haley kalil, lip syncing the words “let them eat cake”, outside the met gala. kalil has 9.9 million followers on her tiktok account @haleyybaylee. an influencer straight up making a “let them eat cake” video at the met gala last night. no self awareness at all. none. pic.twitter.com/39rymzqzle   read let this radicalize you (@joshuaphilll) may 7, 2024 those infamous words, often attributed to marie antoinette, the queen of france during the french revolution, have in popular imagination become synonymous with an elite so disconnected with the lives of citizens unable to find even bread that they suggest cake as an alternative. kalil’s video stirred anger because of the backdrop of the starvation crisis in gaza. insufficient food has been on the rise over the seven months of war. only two days before the met gala, on may 4, cindy mccain, the head of the united nations world food programme (wfp) said in a news interview that northern gaza is experiencing “full blown famine”. users online have now started calling the blockout, the “digitine” or the digital guillotine, leaning into the french revolution reference. the point is they’ve been ignoring the genocide in palestine and the tone deaf “let them eat cake” video was the last straw. we’re fed up of supporting ppl with so money and influence who do absolutely nothing with it. we are the reason they’re rich, we watch   tati.feli. (@ctrlyoself) may 12, 2024 kalil issued an apology video on may 10 on her tiktok account. she said that she did not have an actual invite to the met gala and was involved in the event only as a host with e! news. she justified her use of the audio by saying that it was a trending audio on tiktok. “i am not informed enough to talk about it in a meaningful or educational way,” she said in the apology video in response to questions about why she is not talking about what is happening in gaza. she did not mention “palestine”, “gaza” or “israel” in the video. "not informed enough" on a gen0cide that's been happening for 8 months??? she's acting like she doesn't have access to all the resources one would need to be informed. how ignorant and disgusting. pic.twitter.com/19awwzefbb   kp (@earthlykisssed) may 12, 2024 besides kalil, other celebrities on the blocklists include israeli actor and former soldier gal gadot, american media personality and socialite kim kardashian, american actors zendaya and noah schnapp; american singer taylor swift and british singer harry styles. while there have been online movements in the past to unfollow some of the celebrities that are now being blocked, experts have said blocking is more effective as a protest strategy than unfollowing. the effect of unfollowing on a celebrity’s overall audience and engagement metrics is minimal, eddy borges rey, an associate professor in residence at northwestern university in qatar told al jazeera. borges rey’s research work examines social media and algorithms. “social media celebrities heavily rely on high visibility and engagement to attract and maintain advertising deals,” he said, adding that when someone unfollows a celebrity, they simply stop seeing the celebrity’s posts in their feed. the content can still indirectly show up through their search pages or algorithm driven feeds such as the instagram explore page or the “for you” pages on tiktok and x. since even non followers view the celebrity’s content if they have not blocked the celebrity, this does not significantly hurt the celebrity’s reach. on the other hand, “if someone blocks the celebrity, they completely cut off all interaction with their content,” said borges rey. this decreases the celebrity’s audience size, leading social media algorithms to deprioritise their content. as more people block a celebrity, their posts become less visible across the platform, even to those users who have not blocked the celebrities. “a reduction in visibility can lead advertisers to perceive the celebrity as less valuable, potentially cutting back on the amount they are willing to pay for ads on the celebrity’s profile, thereby directly affecting their ad revenue,” he added. while many social media users online have been proponents and participants of the movement, others have described it as an example of performative activism. adding bella hadid to the blockout list when she’s a palestinian woman again shows that it’s all performative. you don’t get to tell a palestinian how much they should or shouldn’t speak out   melanie (taylor’s version) (@loverglow13) may 11, 2024 some have also suggested that posts about the blockout, by crowding social media, are diverting attention from updates and information about what is actually going on in palestine, as well as fundraisers for gaza. the here’s my blackout celeb list’ videos on tiktok have overtaken the number of informative and actionable fundraising for palestine posts on the fyp and i think we should sit and think about that for a second   officialhambly she/they (@officialhambly) may 13, 2024 while the blockout started only a few days ago and the number of people who have blocked a particular account does not show, celebrities have started to lose followers. on saturday, npr reported that taylor swift lost roughly 300,000 followers on tiktok and about 50,000 followers on instagram over the past week. there’s a massive #blockout2024 taking place where we block every celebrity that hasn’t spoken up about palestine or called for a ceasefire. it’s a global movement. they live off of our attention. if they don’t have any, they cease to exert their influence. pic.twitter.com/tf7ygrhuqx   karim wafa al hussaini (@drkarimwafa) may 10, 2024 “they [celebrities] live off of our attention,” an x user posted. “if they don’t have any, they cease to exert their influence.” follow al jazeera english:

after the met gala, a digital movement targeting pop singers and hollywood stars gained traction. by kevin dolak on may 7, many elite, a list celebrities descended on the metropolitan museum of art in new york for the annual met gala, the star studded fashion extravaganza and most important red carpet (this year, green and white) event of the year. online coverage of the glitzy affair always blankets media coverage as fans pore over each gown’s details. but this year, dozens of pro palestine protesters were arrested a block away while marching toward the event. and for those closely watching the ongoing israel hamas war and gaza’s harrowing devastation   as the death toll topped 35,000 (many of which are women and children)   the met affair led some online critics to launch the #blockout2024 movement, which this week is gaining traction. what is the #blockout2024 movement? many celebrities have used their platforms to express sympathy for palestinians, condemn israel’s campaign in gaza or call for a ceasefire in the conflict that has now stretched into its eighth month. many have chosen to remain silent on the matter. the #blockout2024 movement is essentially a loose group of pro palestine online celebrity hawks who are assessing the actions and words of a listers, and deeming their speech on gaza adequate or insufficient. if they’ve said nothing or not enough, the movement calls for those supporting gaza to block that celebrity on social media. who started the #blockout2024 movement? on may 9, two days into post met gala media coverage and as israeli military operations were escalating in southern and northern gaza, tiktok user @ladyfromtheoutside, whose bio indicates her name is rae, posted a video that already has over 2.5 million views. in the clip, she looks into the camera and tells viewers that it’s time to take celebrities to task for keeping quiet, remaining neutral, or otherwise not speaking out enough to condemn the devastation. “it’s time to block all the celebrities, influencers and wealthy socialites who are not using their resources to help those in dire need,” rae says in a video. “we gave them their platforms. time to take it back, take our views sway our likes our comments our money by blocking them on all social media and digital platforms.” rae, a productive tiktok creator whose catalog of clips includes humorous lip sync videos and other fun dissections of modern life, suggests a “digital guillotine   a ‘digitine,’ if you will,” in her call to action. this refers to the “block” feature on social media platforms. soon, blockout 2024 accounts appeared on both tiktok and instagram. posts from the accounts list major celebrities who they deem should be blocked over their silence or comments on the invasion of gaza, some of the businesses owned by the targeted celebrities, and a list of celebrities deemed as zionists and who the account has placed on the block list. on may 9, the same day that rae’s video was published and went viral, x.com user @literarycore tweeted a graphic heavy thread that explained the movement in further detail. what is #blockout2024 movement?! and why should you participate in it? (via 2024blockout) pic.twitter.com/kneeckug3a which celebrities are being targeted? a listers including taylor swift, beyoncé, selena gomez, justin and hailey bieber, and more made the initial blockout list, while zendaya, nicki minaj, lil nas x and other met gala attendees were deemed “tone deaf” by the blockout 2024 account. any methodology on the critics’ decision making is unclear and at times, there is heated debate: did billie eilish do enough by wearing a pro ceasefire button to the oscars? should everyone quit following the wildly popular instagram of kim kardashian after she was heard saying “free everybody” to a protester shouting, “free palestine”? (kardashian reportedly followed that up by saying, ​“i sympathize with the people of israel and with those in palestine. i sympathize with everyone. all we want is for everyone to feel safe and free.”) how are celebrities reacting to the #blockout2024 movement? as the movement is less than a week old, few celebrities have posted any sort of reaction or thoughts on the concept. its efficacy and whether it will hinder the bottom line of anyone famous and blocked remains to be seen. but the idea has been heavily criticized online, with it being called “pointless” and “hypocritical.” in her inciting tiktok clip, rae mentions influencer haley kalil, also known as haleyybaylee, as her pick for the first victim on the digitine’s chopping block, as kalil was seen at the met gala dressed as marie antoinette, where she posted a now deleted video saying the aristocratic phrase attributed to the queen, “let them eat cake.” after being mentioned by rae, baylee quickly posted a video earnestly explaining that she attended the pre gala to interview celebrities. “i am not elite,” she says, adding that she watched the event from home, having never received an invite from vogue top dog anna wintour. meanwhile on monday, lizzo posted a face to camera thank you video to campus activists and explained the reason for her silence on the conflict over the past nine months. “i just want to take a second and give a personal thank you to all of the activists who have been working tirelessly to help the liberation and the free freedom of the people who have been genocided all over the world   specifically palestine, sudan, and the congo,” the grammy winning singer told her instagram followers. lizzo then opened up about the dark place she’s been emotionally lately but added that it was the activism she’s seen that has motivated her to “get my ass up and get back to who i am.” a post shared by lizzo (@lizzobeeating) lizzo’s timing in sharing this heartfelt explanation of her lack of support for the pro palestine activism and how she’s now throwing her better self into the movement was called out by some online as convenient for the burgeoning movement. ditto for influencer chris olsen, whose mile a minute palestine news update and throws to donations were called out as well. should celebrities be concerned? while the movement is gaining traction this week, those commenting online seem to be split on whether this is an impactful form of protest   blocking these accounts could make only a tiny dent in follower counts, likely leaving any sponsorship, sales or deals unscathed. for example, throughout kalil’s whole affair, her tiktok follower count fell slightly below the coveted 10 million mark to bottom out at 9.9 million. sign up for thr news straight to your inbox every day sign up for thr news straight to your inbox every day send us a tip using our anonymous form.

print some social media users are calling out celebrities for what they say is inaction in the face of a humanitarian crisis in gaza   and they've taken to a "blockout" to pressure the stars to take a stand. for the blockout, users put a block on seeing any and all content from the accounts of certain celebrities on social media platforms including x, tiktok and instagram. some have posted about the celebrities they've blocked, using a hashtag such as #blockout, #blockout2024, or #celebrityblockout, while others have shared posts from users lambasting attendees of high glamour events like the met gala and contrasting it with the situation in gaza. blockout participants say it's a protest because the celebrities either haven't spoken up or haven't said enough against israel's actions in gaza during its war with hamas. since the war erupted october 7 with hamas' deadly attacks, israel's military has killed more than 35,000 people in gaza, according to gaza's health ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. how does the blockout work? on social media platforms, users see content from people they follow, as well as from those chosen for them by algorithms. in both instances, users can select options to mute or block a person or account. blocking the accounts of celebrities or influencers means not seeing any of the content they produce on social media   no posts, no photos or videos, no collaborations with sponsors. the number of people interacting with content brings in money, so the blocks are meant to affect views, engagement and   ultimately   paychecks. the blockout also is meant to target celebrities' brands by taking eyeballs and attention away from their content. who is being blocked? there is no single organized list of celebrities being blocked. some users are offering celebrity suggestions, while others are deciding on their own. celebrities in the u.s. and beyond have been named in the blockout. blocking is up to each social media user. and every celebrity, influencer or content creator must be blocked individually on each platform. how did the blockout start? protests around the israel hamas war have grown, with encampments on college campuses around the country. amid those movements, attention to what celebrities and influencers were, or weren't, saying got a boost after the met gala last week. the annual party draws a host of famous faces from the worlds of fashion, movies, music, sports and more. it's known for its over the top arrivals carpet and the elaborate outfits celebrities wear. this year, the gala was circled by protesters for much of the evening. social media was flooded with images from the star studded event. around the same time, images circulated as israel launched a military operation in the southern gaza city of rafah. that led to some users calling out the contrast between the gala's celebrity opulence and the situation in gaza   using images from both   and condemning celebrities for not using their platforms to speak up for those who are suffering. will the blockout be effective? the effectiveness and staying power of the blockout are yet to be seen, said beth fossen, assistant professor of marketing at indiana university. it might depend on the celebrity and what they're known for   a famous person whose "brand" is tied to humanitarian causes may be more affected than one known primarily for talent, she added. "if your identity is really tied to promoting something that is key to the boycotting, then this could potentially have really serious consequences for you," fossen said. "there might be some influencers that gain their fame by sort of promoting peace and then they're being silent on this issue   followers may not forgive them." is there blockout backlash? there has been criticism of the blockout, with some saying the focus on celebrities takes attention away from what's happening on the ground in gaza. others question what the parameters are for judging whether someone should be blocked   and what would constitute a well known person speaking out or doing enough.

earlier this month, online campaigns arose calling for social media users to block celebrities who have not spoken out about the war in gaza on their platforms. these calls intensified after several celebrities and influencers attended the met gala on may 6 the same day israel launched an attack on rafah, the city where many palestinians fled after the decimation of northern gaza. on tiktok and instagram, users called out celebrities and influencers for attending the high profile event as the war continues and called on their followers to block stars who they perceive as staying silent on the war. called the “blockout” or “digital guillotine,” the online campaigns took off quickly after an influencer, haley kalil, drew backlash after posting a video on may 6 showing off her met gala look and lip syncing to a sound from the 2008 film marie antoinette, in which the titular character, played by kirsten dunst says, “let them eat cake." the real life antoinette is said to have responded with that phrase after learning peasants in 18th century france were going hungry and had no more bread, though many historians have questioned whether she really said it. kalil’s video was criticized immediately, and compared to the hunger games. she later apologized and deleted the tiktok, clarifying that she didn’t attend the event and was a pre met gala host for e! news. kalil also drew ire after saying she doesn’t speak on gaza because she is “not informed enough to talk about it in a meaningful and educational way.” ❤️ in response, the tiktok account @ladyfromtheoutside began a “digital guillotine” or “digitine” movement. “it’s time to block all the celebrities, influencers, and wealthy socialites who are not using their resources to help those in dire need,” she says in her video. “we gave them their platforms. it’s time to take it back, take our views away, our likes, our comments, our money.” #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo #digitine #digitalguillotine #haleyybaylee another account, @blockout2024, popped up in may and encouraged followers to start blocking celebrities with the aim of disrupting their revenue streams by not engaging with their content. separate accounts with similar names have also launched on tiktok. #blockout2024 brooke erin duffy, a communications professor at cornell university, says that a movement like blockout 2024 shows how large swaths of creators can work in tandem to affect a public figure’s visibility. “while consumer led boycotts are by no means unprecedented, this latest iteration showcases the power of creators to redistribute or even weaponize ​platforms' metric systems,” she says. read more: as a potential tiktok ban looms, creators worry about more than just their bottom lines but just as quickly as it drew praise, the calls to block influencers and celebrities drew criticism, sparking a larger conversation about nuance in online activism. critics say that just asking people to block celebrities and other highly followed figures is not a coherent strategy and that it’s becoming a bullying tactic, pulling away focus from the crisis in gaza. #blockout2024 is interesting but only if it’s targeted and strategic #kimkardashian creators and celebrities aren't the only subject of discussions of boycotting creative work. last week, a user on x circulated a color coded google spreadsheet of authors, listing each one’s stance on the war, and who to support and not support. the list inspired similarly divisive reactions, with some accusing the creator of the list of antisemitism and likening it to mccarthyism. others have acknowledged the well meaning intention behind the effort, but fear it might have the opposite effect. why bother putting your effort into actually helping palestinians when you could just make a spreadsheet of authors who *may* be zionists that won’t actually help anyone at all “amid such a profoundly divisive war, it’s no small wonder that celebrities are experiencing backlash for what they have said or for their conspicuous silence,” duffy says. “creators are acutely aware of the impact of visibility and conversely invisibility on a person's status and income. efforts to render a public figure less visible are akin to reputational warfare.” @blockout2024 uploads new videos each day of three celebrities they are blocking and encourages their followers to do the same. they also encourage their followers to share their own personalized blocklists using the hashtag #blockout2024. many of these lists include major celebrities like taylor swift, beyoncé, kim kardashian, zendaya, and more. figures with millions of followers “have the opportunity to create important change in our world,” says the person behind the @blockout2024 account via instagram dms, who asked to remain anonymous. they started the blockout 2024 movement after seeing videos of the met gala being compared to the hunger games. #stitch with @sarahf you can also block artists on spotify as well as news outlets “i stitched that video and explained how i block celebrities that aren’t using their platforms for good, so that i’m not contributing to their ad revenue,” they say. “it ended up going viral which showed me that this could really work on a larger scale. so i decided to try and push the movement even further.” #stitch with @sarahf you can also block artists on spotify as well as news outlets critics of the blockout movement have instead amplified work by content creators that draw attention to the war, like erin hattamer, a comedian who pivoted her content to focus on helping people in gaza, and the organizers of operation olive branch. in a video posted on may 9, hattamer said she was getting overwhelmed with messages from families asking to support their gofundmes to help get people out of gaza and felt she couldn’t do an effective job on her own, so she started the “pass the hat” project, where creators with any size follower count can fill out a form and be assigned to amplify a family’s fundraise. operation olive branch is a similar initiative where creators can adopt a family to help fundraise money to help them get out of gaza. #passthehat operation olive branch faq video! #operationolivebranch #gazanheroes #traveltoegypt #egypt #frequentlyaskedquestions #faq #fyp the hashtag #blockout2024 has been used over 29,000 times on tiktok. as the hashtag becomes more popular, criticism over the movement has grown too. kate lindsay, author of the internet culture substack newsletter embedded argued in a may 13 post that it calls for a “perfect celebrity activist” that doesn’t actually exist. “this movement not only fails to effectively target the people it should, but it also discourages and alienates public figures who are doing their small part,” she wrote. one tiktoker, @donidarkowitz, said the blocking campaigns are “losing the plot.” “there are too many people taking glee in finding celebrities to block for innocuous a s reasons,” she said. you’ll never hear me say that celebrities shouldn’t do more because they have more at their disposal, but this is not that. this moved so far from the original point in record f cking time.” some block lists have included celebrities who have made public statements or gestures on the war in gaza: jenna ortega, who shared support in a statement on x in march; billie eilish and her brother finneas, who wore a ceasefire pin to the academy awards; and ariana grande, who recently signed an open letter urging for a ceasefire. a 🧵 of celebrities that have shown support towards palestine 🍉 🇵🇸 (just to spread awareness for those who chose to speak out) pic.twitter.com/s2ddtkdsmx lizzo, another celebrity who frequently appears on these lists, recently uploaded a video sharing two gofundme campaigns for aid to a family in palestine, a fundraiser for sudan, and a resource to an organization helping the people of congo. the comments section, however, called her action “performative." “still blocking, 100 days too late to pretend,” one commenter wrote. “girl you have more than enough money to just give this family what they need," another comment read. "coulda and shoulda been doing this months ago. we see through your performance." read more: tiktok vows to fight its ban. here’s how the battle may play out the creator @basicallybetsy2.0 argued in a video that while the cause has good intentions, the conceit needs some work. “just because someone doesn’t speak up for a specific cause doesn’t mean they need to be thrown out completely because they could be speaking up for another cause,” betsy said. “and just because someone isn’t speaking out publicly on their platform doesn’t mean they aren’t actively at protests.” alos the fact people are platforming that yt man who hasnt even stated his beliefs clearly is a big issue!!! i have other opinions related to this but lets start here #blockout2024 the creator of the @blockout 2024 account says he agrees with the criticisms of the movement but thinks its message stands. “overall, this movement is waking people up to the fact that we have the power to make change, which is really important,” they say. “i think that’s one of the most positive outcomes so far.” write to moises mendez ii at moises.mendez@time.com

menu as this year's met gala got underway, the message behind the sartorial theme of one of fashion's biggest nights fell on deaf ears as activists marched in traffic on the streets near the metropolitan museum of art and voiced concerns on social media. at issue was a lack of attention, in their eyes, on israel's war against hamas, and the continued military onslaught on the palestinian territory that, months in   even by earlier this year   had seen more than 29,000 palestinians killed since hamas' oct. 7 attack on israel. international aid organizations feared this month that any new military operation by the idf in rafah would cripple humanitarian operations. the united nations also feared yet another surge in civilian deaths. by the time of the may 6 met gala, thousands of miles away in new york city, activists were working to take attention away from the event and celebrity culture with a growing protest labeled "#blockout2024," in which social media users were being asked to block any celebrity account that didn't speak out on the war in gaza. that same day, columbia university announced that it had canceled its may 15 commencement ceremony after weeks of anti war demonstrations on its campus, and other campuses across the country. in april, the daughter of u.s. rep. ilhan omar said she was suspended from barnard college after "standing in solidarity with palestinians facing a genocide." in may ucla chancellor gene block called violence at the university's royce quad on its campus "abhorrent" after classes at the university of california in los angeles were canceled "due to the distress" after a group of anti war demonstrators were attacked. los angeles mayor karen bass said she met with members of the lapd and several other agencies, calling the attack "absolutely detestable violence." activists who saw others being arrested on campuses while picketing and demonstrating appeared to turn to online methods to push for more action and awareness. some called the celebrity blockout a sign that there was possibly some shifting perspective on the feelings fans and the public have about celebrities. it appeared the blockout was a way to test what power celebrities have on influencing politicians, corporations and voters. the movement appeared to be significantly driven by tiktok users who believe the influencers should use their platforms to speak out on social issues and on the war in gaza. they spoke out in large numbers against one post by popular tiktoker @haleyybaylee who shared a videowhile at the met gala lip syncing to sound that said "let them eat cake." users on the platform later pointed out that she had reportedly deleted the video with her wearing an expensive dress, but not before comments started pouring in noting that the video was tone deaf amid an ongoing major conflict. the video, with over 19.3 million views, gained comments like "the fact that she didn't realize this would upset us just makes the metaphor even stronger," themiami herald pointed out. the quote, "let them eat cake," is a historical line widely attributed to french queen marie antoinette, who is believed to have said it during the french revolutionafter she was told her starving peasant subjects didn't even have bread to eat. to anti war activists, it was another example of the disconnect happening at events like the met gala, when the celebrities there could be speaking out to stop a deadly conflict. one tiktok user with the handle @blockout2024 said “celebrities can’t earn ad revenue when we block them,” and encouraged users to make block lists to keep momentum for the effort going. to date, there hasn't been any one major organized list of celebrities being blocked, but rather a more organic grassroots effort to suggest celebrities to block by other social media users. it's hard, some have said, to gauge how successful this early iteration of the effort has been. beth fossen, a marketing professor at indiana university, told the associated press that it could have an impact on celebrity brands more tied to humanitarian causes than for other celebrities who are just known for being famous. about scripps news

chloe veltman zendaya at the 2024 met gala in new york city. the actress is one of many celebrities whose name has appeared this week on social media "block" lists for not speaking out publicly about the conflict in gaza. jamie mccarthy/getty images hide caption zendaya at the 2024 met gala in new york city. the actress is one of many celebrities whose name has appeared this week on social media "block" lists for not speaking out publicly about the conflict in gaza. a collective effort on tiktok and other social media platforms to push celebrities to speak publicly about the conflict in gaza went into overdrive this week after the met gala. creators on tiktok have earned millions of views for videos they've made linked to hashtags like #celebrityblocklist, #letthemeatcake and #blockout. many of these posts list the names of actors, musicians and other high profile figures whom the video creators say had not yet spoken out against israel's attacks on the region   or hadn't spoken out sufficiently in the creators' view   and therefore should be blocked. and there's been a special push in recent days to name those who attended the opulent, star studded annual met gala on monday. "i made a google doc of every celebrity that attended the met gala, and now i'm going through and writing if they've been silent, or if they've been using their platform to speak up about the genocide in gaza," said tiktok user silentcelebs8 in a video displaying a long list of celebrity names against a black background with the word "silent" in red next to to some, including zendaya, nicki minaj, keith urban and andrew scott. "some of these celebrities have not been completely silent," the tiktoker continued. "zendaya did make a post back in october on her story supporting palestine, but has been silent since. so i went ahead and put 'silent.'" (genocide is a legal term; israel has not been found to be in violation of the genocide convention and israel strongly denies the accusation.) calls on social media to boycott celebrity silences have been on a slow burn for months. but the fact the new york event, with its unchecked display of privilege and wealth, took place at around the same time as thousands of palestinians were being forced to flee rafah at less than 24 hours notice as israeli troops took control of the gaza territory's border crossing with egypt, fanned the glowing embers into full on flames. "the met gala was a bit of a hyperbolic moment that got a lot of people's attention," said marcus collins, an assistant professor of marketing at the university of michigan. "the celebrity boycotts had existed, but they weren't really at the top of the social zeitgeist. but then you have a moment like the met gala that wasn't really related to the conflict, but the pieces were all at play. when the attacks [in gaza] were happening the same day, the juxtaposition just got people talking and moving." even relatively minor celebrities like social media influencer hayley baylee   who wasn't even a guest at the event, but had been hired as a pre gala host to interview those invited as they headed to the party   were caught up in the backlash on tiktok. many creators posted negative reactions to a video baylee posted of herself that night (which has since been taken down), saying, "let them eat cake!" it was a nod, as she later admitted in a video apologizing for her actions, to a current trend on social media for looks inspired by marie antoinette, and a line from the 2006 film starring kirsten dunst, about the ill fated french queen. ❤️ "the world is just not peaceful or stable enough for the average person to accept and enjoy celebrities flaunting their wealth on social media," said user christopher claflin on tiktok in response both to baylee's faux pas and the overall flaunting of wealth in new york that night. "flexing on the peasants only works when the peasants aren't watching other peasants be wiped off the face of the planet." the rationale behind the calls on social media to block celebrities, thereby negatively impacting their advertising revenue, is to put pressure on them to use their massive influence to try to stop the violence in gaza. "the hope is that it will either bring more visibility to the cause and shift the balance in getting political forces like the u.s. government to do something to mitigate the violence that's happening in the middle east," said collins. "but as rational as that logic may seem, i don't think there are very many examples where this has actually worked." collins cited the example of george clooney's efforts, albeit in an era before the rise of social media, to end the war in sudan. a 2014 article in the guardian by the sudan based journalist maeve shearlaw assessed the impact of the celebrity's dedicated efforts over the years to bring about change: "i don't see that it has halted, or even reduced, the genocide. the killing, displacement, sexual assaults and rape never stopped." on the other hand, pressure on social media has occasionally impacted the ways celebrities speak out about world events. for example, the backlash against oprah winfrey and dwayne "the rock" johnson for asking the public to donate to a maui wildfire recovery fund last fall caused the pair to put more of their own significant resources into the effort. however, the amount they contributed was not disclosed. this latest social media campaign may be intended to help people in gaza, but some experts say it doesn't directly target the issue; rather, it focuses attention on celebrities, and obscures the desired goal. "that's not what we're debating on and trending about and talking about and arguing about," said chris morse, a communications professor at bryant university. "it's the fact that celebrity a won't tell us their stance. isn't that weird that they won't do that? let's boycott them until they do do that." indeed   while the number of blocks to an account is not visible   some stars have seen a fall off in followers over the past week. for example, taylor swift, who's at the top of many of the block lists, lost around 300,000 followers on tiktok over the past week, according to a comparison between her tiktok follower number at the time of writing and the number obtained from last week via wayback machine, and around 50,000 on instagram. but that's nothing for a star of swift's magnitude. "a large celebrity has their touring, has multiple large social channels, is featured on television, is featured in the press," said eric dahan, ceo of the social media marketing company mighty joy. "if you have north of 100 million followers and you lose three or five million, it sucks. but is that the end of the world for you? no." dahan added that blocking celebrities doesn't prevent them from appearing in targeted social media ad campaigns. "blocking an account doesn't prevent you from receiving an ad, because the ad is not run through the celebrity's account per se," said dahan. "and so, for example, you can block kim kardashian, but hulu could run an ad targeting the kardashians at you." meanwhile, controversies involving celebrities very often bring attention to social media platforms. "tiktok definitely benefits, right? because the trend is happening on their format," said bryant university's morse. "we are constantly mentioning tiktok in all of the stories, and that makes people curious in order to see the trend and see what people are doing. so you got to go to tiktok, and you really got to become a member because you can't really see too many things without actually engaging with the platform." tiktok did not immediately respond to npr's request for comment. and even if the many, much viewed videos aimed at canceling celebrities don't help to bring about a change for the people of gaza, there's at least an emotional reward for those doing the canceling. "it does provide some sense of agency," said the university of michigan's collins. "a sense that i've done something to influence other people to do something that perhaps maybe might make a difference. because in the minds of those folks, it's better than doing nothing." sponsor message become an npr sponsor

hamas, israel complete fifth prisoner swap under gaza deal trump revokes security clearances for blinken, jake sullivan thousands rally in paris against iran's leaders as israel bans unrwa, palestinian refugees fear for the future shock and awe: what can trump get done in his first 100 days? the vital role of civil society in building a post assad syria trump sending migrants to guantanamo isn't new the art of the steal: lawless sheriff trump goes rogue in gaza is trump's gaza 'takeover' actually jared kushner's last hurrah? mohammad rasoulof: prison, politics and his oscar nominated film justice for syria's rape victims is vital if syria is to recover the top middle eastern restaurants in london for valentine's day breadcrumb online users are saying enough to celebrity culture by kickstarting a new trend across tiktok and other social media platforms in solidarity with gaza and sudan. the celebrity block list is the latest online movement garnering the attention of tiktokers in opposition to the stark dichotomy between the privileged few and the persecuted many. the trending hashtag, #blockout2024, sees users sharing videos compiling a list of celebrities to influencers to block en masse, in retaliation for their responses (or lack thereof) on the devastating conflicts in gaza and sudan. at least 34,971 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the palestinian territory amid the seven month war, which has been internationally decried as inconsistent with international humanitarian law. in sudan, the conflict has killed more than 14,000 people and wounded thousands more amid reports of widespread sexual violence and other atrocities that rights groups say amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. the new arab takes a deep dive into the growing trend and how it aims to amplify social issues around the world. critics online claim that the annual met gala, where members of the elite fashion world visibly flaunt their avant garde and opulent style, further demonstrates the absurdity of such events that turn a blind eye to social issues. support for tiktok ban due to gaza content, says mitt romney while attendees wore dramatic dresses adorned in crystals and florals, pro palestine protests took place merely blocks away in new york. this triggered the movement that was later coined as ‘operation blockout’. tiktok users such as @blockout2024, who is credited with founding the celebrity blocking campaign, have called out several of the world’s biggest names who are deemed as complicit. from kim kardashian, taylor swift to justin bieber  users did not hold back on who is alleged to be blamed. in one video blockout2024 posted on tiktok, which has since accumulated over a million views, he said that followers have "full control of celebrities’ money and lives". "when we hate on them, they make money. when we praise them, they make money. but when we block their social media accounts and completely forget their names, they lose it all," tiktoker blockout2024 said. "the amount of attention we give them and the amount of engagement we give them is their direct currency. take it from them." celebrities will be unable to earn ad revenue by significantly reducing their followers, according to users, who say will pressure celebrities into highlighting palestine and sudan. you can also block news outlets that clickbait and artists on spotify jenny, a tiktok user from vietnam, told the new arab that "the genocide going on in palestine" prompted her to take part in the campaign. "the algorithm of tiktok allows anyone, disregard of age, sex or societal status, to be able to go viral as long as their content aligns with the interest of other users. that’s why the portrayal of any social issue on tiktok has been shown to really be non biased and very authentic, since it’s the voice of mundane people just like you and me," she said. “i’ve never been able to comprehend the power of social media until i saw a whole movement to support palestine, congo and sudan started off from tiktok. especially among gen zs as they are perceived to be the generation that’s much more sensitive to social matters.” the 22 year old tiktoker reiterated that with power comes responsibility  adding that celebrities’ silence has cost the miseducation of humanitarian crises taking place worldwide. “i personally feel so much rage, as why people can put so much more effort into participating in a lavish event, which costs thousands of dollars, while being completely benevolent at the fact that people are being bombed to pieces on the other side of the world,” she told the new arab. “the met gala 2024 was an event that depicts the imbalance of power & resources distribution in our society.” the popularity of operation blockout has prompted responses from some celebrities who stepped forward to address their controversies. us influencer hayley kalil, better known as @hayleybayley on tiktok, released an eight minute apology video to discuss her polarising met gala video previously posted on her account. the now deleted clip saw kalil lip syncing to "let them eat cake", a trending sound from 2006 movie marie antoinette starring kirsten dunst while dressed in a floral headdress and gown inspired by the infamous queen of france. meanwhile, fellow american influencer chris olson, who was also mentioned in many block lists, posted a tiktok video discussing his involvement in ‘operation olive branch’  another online solidarity campaign for gaza to aid displaced palestinian families. following the backlash, pop singer lizzo also shared a gofundme campaign for a palestinian family raising money to flee gaza, while promoting another for humanitarian relief in sudan. "just under 72 hours since the trend started, lizzo has uploaded a tiktok voicing out about donating to gaza,” tiktok user jenny told the new arab. "i think to a point in the future, when the divestment keeps on going, other celebrities would realize they couldn’t get people’s support anymore if they just run their careers to remain in their privilege bubble, while staying indifferent and tone deaf about the sufferings and injustice of people around the world."

profile sections local tv featured more from nbc follow nbc news news alerts there are no new alerts at this time hundreds of celebrities are on the “digital guillotine” as social media users campaign for a #blockout   urging one another to block the social media accounts of big names who have remained silent about the ongoing humanitarian atrocities in gaza. selena gomez, zendaya, drake, justin bieber and the kardashian family are among the many targets. even longtime fans of stars like taylor swift have announced their decisions to block the same celebrities they once followed and admired. (some celebrities on the block lists expressed concern for both israelis and palestinians after hamas militants attacked israel on oct. 7 but have not posted publicly about gaza in recent months.) pro palestinian activists have been putting pressure on celebrities to show more support for civilians in gaza for months, stirring a growing sense of disillusionment that reached a boiling point last week when the glitz and glamor of the met gala coincided with israel’s announcement of a military offensive in rafah. viewers of the met gala have long compared the event to “the hunger games,” the popular book franchise by suzanne collins that highlights the dystopian social divide between the wealthy capitol elite and the impoverished district citizens living under state oppression. but criticism of what many online perceived as an excessive display of opulence grew even more pronounced this year as celebrities posed for photos while pro palestinian protesters marched outside. the backlash bubbled into outrage after the popular social media creator haley kalil posted a now removed tiktok video posing in her lavish met gala gown while lip syncing to the tiktok sound “let them eat cake,” a quotation famously attributed to the last queen of france, marie antoinette, who was sent to the guillotine during the french revolution. the phrase has come to symbolize the attitude of aristocrats who are out of touch with the realities of the less fortunate. “it’s time for the people to conduct what i want to call a ‘digital guillotine.’ a ‘digitine,’ if you will,” said tiktok creator @ladyfromtheoutside, who kicked off the movement with her viral video. “it’s time to block all the celebrities, influencers and wealthy socialites who are not using their resources to help those in dire need. we gave them their platforms. it’s time to take it back, take our views away, our likes, our comments, our money.” kalil later posted a video apology in which she said she was invited only as a pre met gala e! news host and did not attend the event itself. she drew further backlash when she said she does not speak about gaza because she is “not informed enough to talk about it in a meaningful and educational way.” kalil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. some online pointed to rapper macklemore as a celebrity who, despite having shared in october that he was “by no means” an expert in israeli palestinian relations, has continued to learn about the conflict while voicing his support for a cease fire. last week, he released a song in support of palestinians. kalil, who posted a now removed video after the met gala sharing her excitement at reaching 10 million tiktok followers, has since dropped back to 9.9 million followers. many of the celebrities on widely circulated block lists have also lost net averages of tens or hundreds of thousand followers per day since the “digitine” began, according to metrics from the social media analytics company social blade. “yalla, let’s all block the people who we made famous and rich.. who are living in a fantasy world.. destroying our environment, society, harmony and economy, and don’t even put some effort to educate themselves about us, the 99% of the world’s population who made them,” palestinian journalist and activist bisan owda, known for her social media video reports from gaza, posted on her instagram story this weekend. the “digitine” movement comes in the wake of weeks of protest encampments across college campuses nationwide as students pressure their administrations to divest from israel, leading to mass arrests of students and some faculty members. but there’s some intra campaign division over the effectiveness of block lists that center on those who attended monday night’s met gala. many online highlighted the misconception that celebrities spent $75,000 to attend, noting that invitees typically do not pay for their own met gala tickets. and some attendees, like actor rachel zegler, have been vocal about gaza, as well. others said that celebrities should not be a focal point for pro palestinian activism and that social media users should prioritize talking about gaza, instead. still, some online pointed out the impact that an influencer can make with a single social media post: one gofundme campaign reached its $200,000 goal less than 24 hours after tiktok creator yuval ben hayun shared it in a video, asking viewers to donate to help get his friend’s family out of gaza. in the days since the “digitine” began, several stars on the block lists   such as rapper lizzo and influencer chris olsen   have posted their first public videos encouraging their followers to donate in support of families in gaza and aid organizations serving palestinians. some viewers immediately criticized the videos, commenting that they came so late that they appear performative. others commended them for using their platforms now, citing the videos as evidence the movement is working. angela yang is a culture and trends reporter for nbc news. © 2025 nbcuniversal media, llc

manage your account a newly coined word has been making the rounds on social media this past week: the “digitine.” the term, an abbreviation of “digital guillotine,” went viral in the wake of the 2024 met gala. it has been used by many social media users as a call to unfollow or block celebrities who have not been vocal about their stance on the israel hamas war. the word “digitine” appears to have been first used by a tiktok user who was blasting an influencer for referencing marie antoinette in a met gala post. celebrities have been proponents of digital boycotts, like in 2020, when a listers like kim kardashian and katy perry announced a 24 hour boycott of instagram for stop hate for profit campaign, organized to put a stop to misinformation and hate speech on meta projects. this time, though, celebrities and their influence   and how they choose to wield it   are the target. read on to learn more about how the “digitine” movement began, and media experts’ views on how a digital boycott can affect celebrities. the phrase “digitine” appears to have been coined by a tiktok user in the wake of the 2024 met gala in new york city. a few days after the may 6 gala, which saw many celebrities walking the red carpet in elaborate couture looks, a woman who uses the handle @ladyfromtheoutside on tiktok posted a video criticizing celebrities for not using their platforms and privilege to help people in need. “it’s time for the people to conduct what i want to call a ‘digital guillotine.’ a ‘digitine,’ if you will. it’s time to block all the celebrities, influencers and wealthy socialites who are not using their resources to help those in dire need,” she said in her video. “we gave them their platforms. it’s time to take it back, take our views away, our likes, our comments, our money, by blocking them on all social media and digital platforms,” she continued. the tiktok user went on to name the first person she wished to target in the ‘digitine’ movement: haley kalil, an influencer and model who recently posted a video of herself wearing a marie antoinette style gown before the met gala. today.com has reached out to kalil and has not heard back at the time of publication. kalil's original video has since been deleted, but clips of her video posted by other tiktok users show that the influencer used an audio clip from the 2006 film, “marie antoinette,” including the line, “let them eat cake," as she posed in her 18th century style floral gown. (as a side note, the "let them eat cake" quote is popularly attributed to marie antoinette, often shared as evidence of her callous attitude toward starving peasants, but historians do not believe antoinette actually spoke these words. marie antoinette was executed by guillotine during the french revolution's reign of terror in 1793) “haley: for your ignorant decision to attend the $75,000 ticket met gala and recite ‘let them eat cake,’ while you have done nothing with your 10 million follower platform as people are starving or dying, we sentence you to the digitine,” the tiktok user @ladyfromtheoutside continued in her video. she finished her video with an image of kalil being unfollowed, accompanied by a slicing blade sound effect and the spoken message, “vive la révolution.” after this “digitine” video went viral, kalil responded in her own tiktok video. she clarified that she did not actually attend the 2024 met gala, but rather interviewed celebrities prior to the event. kalil also noted that the audio clip she used from “marie antoinette” was a popular trending sound on tiktok at the time, and that she had not intended to cause offense by using the audio clip. “i need to apologize. i am so, so, so sorry that i chose a sound that you guys could ever possibly feel was malicious in nature. if i had thought for even one second that the sound would be received that way, i never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever would have used it,” she said. “when i film my tiktoks, i love to use trending audios and sounds that people are currently using, and this was one of them,” she continued. kalil also pushed back against the accusation that her marie antoinette inspired video signified a lack of compassion for global inequality or people’s suffering. “the sound choice truly had no deeper meaning. i never would have chosen a sound on purpose to highlight wealth disparity or elitism,” she said. “i never even thought it would be taken in that way because i wasn’t elite enough to even be invited to the met gala.” tiktok user @ladyontheoutside’s video soon went viral and inspired others on social media to name celebrities they wanted to add to a “digitine” list. several posts, many of which used the hashtags #digitine or #blockout2024, criticized celebrities who had not spoken publicly about the humanitarian crisis in gaza. the israeli hamas began after hamas launched an attack on israeli civilians on october 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage. since the oct. 7 attack, over 35,000 people in gaza have been killed by israeli attacks. one tiktok user shared a video that spliced footage of celebrities on the met gala red carpet with footage of bombing and gaza protests. the video was set to the song “the hanging tree” from “the hunger games: mockingjay   part 1.” the “hunger games” has been invoked as people compared the met gala to the capitol, the region in the fictional book where elites lived. “digitine (digital guillotine) list of all the celebrities who attended the met gala during dystopian times,” she wrote in the caption, adding the hashtag #freepalestine. these posts came after a group of pro palestinian protestors attempted to interrupt the met gala, nbc news reported. the “digitine” initiative also comes against the backdrop of widespread campus protests against the israel hamas war at dozens of universities across the country in recent weeks, including columbia university and ucla. “there’s a massive #blockout2024 taking place where we block every celebrity that hasn’t spoken up about palestine or called for a ceasefire,” oneperson wrote on x. “it’s a global movement. they live off of our attention. if they don’t have any, they cease to exert their influence.” the recent video posted by kalil, and the viral response it inspired, seems to have sparked a new wave of protests on the digital front. “‘let them eat cake’ is the phrase that broke the camel’s back,” a tiktok user with the username @itzkennyg said in a recent video. “the thing is, i don’t think (haley kalil) realized that she sparked a revolution.” he continued, “we gave them a platform and they spit in our faces. stop idolizing these people.” tiktoker @adonaicaimmoloch summed it up by saying, “block every celebrity ... these people have all the opportunity to make change in this world. instead of talking their platform to talk about s    that matters, they use it to make money ... our attention allows them the wealth of their reality. we can deny that to them by just ignoring them.” in addition to unfollowing celebrities, one tiktok user urged others to boycott famous figures by “not watching their shows and movies, and not listening to their music.” do digital boycotts like the “digitine” movement actually affect celebrities and influencers? blair huddy, a public relations professional and the founder and ceo of hudson davis communications, weighed in on how losing existing followers, as well as being blocked by non followers, could have an impact on social media creators. in a statement to today.com, huddy explained that many celebrities and influencers are paid by the number of views they receive per post, so losing followers and being blocked could “hurt their earning by ensuring their content is not shown as widely.” huddy also noted that creators can negotiate rates for posts depending on their following. so, for example, an influencer with 100,000 social media followers could charge more money for a sponsored post than an influencer with 5,000 or 10,000 followers. “with a loss of followers they (brands) won’t have as much exposure to a sizable audience so they won’t be willing to pay as much for said exposure,” huddy said. that said, huddy also noted that it would take “substantial losses (of followers) or blocks to make an impact, in the hundreds of thousands or more.” she also said some celebrities pay for followers “to keep their perceived audience or presence,” so being unfollowed by real fans may not affect all celebrities’ bottom line in the same way. tenyse williams, a public relations expert and adjunct instructor specialist at columbia university and george washington university, also says losing large amounts of followers could send a message to public figures. “celebrities often have millions of followers, and losing a few may not seem like a big deal,” williams told today.com in a statement. “however, if they lose a significant number of followers, especially from a particular audience, it sends a clear signal that people are unhappy with their actions. “digital protests can be a powerful tool to hold public figures accountable for their behavior and actions,” williams added. “if a substantial number of people participate in such protests, it can lead to a broader discussion about the role of public figures in shaping societal norms and values.” topsie vandenbosch, a licensed psychotherapist and emotional intelligence consultant, told today.com that "follower counts" often represent celebrities' "influence, marketability, likability and respectability," in addition to earning potential. losing followers is a "multi layered thread," jeopardizing brand deals and also undermining "their perceived moral authority and influence." vandenbosch said a digital boycott could lead them to change their views or actions. “a mass unfollowing can cause famous figures to re examine their beliefs and behaviors to realign with societal expectations and avoid further scrutiny and backlash,” she told today.com in an email. while not commenting specifically on the “digitine” movement, writer and commentator derek guy also shared his views on x about why the met gala should not be dismissed as a merely “frivolous” event. the met gala, whose official name is the costume benefit institute, is a fundraiser for the metropolitan museum of art's costume institute. in his lengthy x thread, guy argued that while “one can reasonably criticize” the “excess” of the gala, both in terms of “the price of the tickets and the clothes,” the event should not be wholly dismissed as an elitist indulgence. “fashion is often unduly criticized because it has historically been coded as frivolous and feminine,” he wrote. “'masculine’ interests such as architecture are considered ‘legitimate,’ while fashion is considered ‘frivolous’ and ‘dumb.’ "fashion is integral to culture because it relates to how people   of all genders   express themselves,” he added. “it also involves craft.” this article was originally published on today.com

billie is a newsweek pop culture and entertainment reporter based in london who has appeared online, in print and on radio. she has extensively covered pop culture, women's rights and lifestyle topics throughout her career and has interviewed numerous celebrities, including jude law, billy crystal and country singer lainey wilson. originally from sydney, australia, billie moved to london in 2019. she joined newsweek in 2023 and has previously written for stylist, cosmopolitan, popsugar, metro.co.uk, the mirror and business insider, just to name a few. she studied media (communications and journalism) at the university of new south wales. languages: english. you can get in touch with billie by emailing b.schwabdunn@newsweek.com, and on x at @billie_sd. based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. celebrities like kim kardashian and adam sandler are losing hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and it could be due to their perceived silence or inaction regarding the ongoing conflict in gaza. the latest conflict between israel and hamas began on october 7 when the palestinian militant group launched a surprise attack on southern israel. israel subsequently attacked the gaza strip. according to the associated press, gaza health officials said more than 34,500 palestinians have been killed and more than 70,000 wounded in the gaza strip since the war began. hamas' initial attack killed about 1,200 people and about 250 hostages were taken back into gaza. more than 1 million civilians have sheltered in rafah, located in the south of gaza strip, the ap reported. there has been mounting criticism online of those with influence not using their power to help those affected by the violence currently taking place. many household names from taylor swift and zendaya to harry styles and gal gadot  are on the chopping block. this trend started on tiktok, where it is also being referred to as "blockout 2024" and the "digital guillotine." several accounts have been encouraging others to block celebrities on social media. this gained momentum after the met gala took place on may 6. that day, israel began ordering palestinians to leave parts of eastern rafah, which had been a refuge for hundreds of thousands of civilians. while this could explain why several celebrities have seen such a large drop in followers, a clearing out bots and fake accounts, for instance, could also be to blame. another catalyst of the blockout movement was a now deleted video uploaded by influencer haley kalil on the day of the event. she had been hired as a pre gala host to interview those invited as they headed to the event. in the clip, she showcased her elaborate outfit and lip synced the famous "let them eat cake" line from sofia coppola's 2006 film, marie antoinette. kalil received backlash from numerous tiktok users as many deemed it insensitive considering the events taking place in gaza. this prompted kalil to apologize for using the sound bite and for not doing her "due diligence." newsweek emailed a spokesperson for kalil for comment on may 14. others have compared the met gala to the popular dystopian book series, the hunger games, which author suzanne collins was inspired to write after channel surfing between footage of the war in iraq in the 2000s and a reality television show. tiktok user @elis___stone posted a video with clips from the gala alongside footage of people in gaza, but also of ukraine and georgia, with the caption "same planet, different worlds." the song "the hanging tree," written as a rebel song for the hunger games movie franchise, is played over the top. the video has been liked 6.4 million times and has been viewed 38.7 million times. social media users have cataloged the names of celebrities who are deemed to have a significant following and cultural influence but haven't spoken about the events in gaza, using the hashtags #celebrityblocklist, #letthemeatcake, and #blockout. some are even sharing google docs they have created of those they believe ought to be blacklisted. one such google doc that newsweek has seen was posted on tiktok on may 9. as of may 22, it included 270 names of celebrities such as hailey bieber and jude law to block as well as 161 businesses. some tiktok users calling for the blockout have thousands of followers. "the 'blockout 2024' initiative signifies a collective effort not only to unfollow celebrities but also to impact them financially for their ignorance or erasure of the israel/gaza conflict," zanetta miller, the owner of niche pr boutique, told newsweek. "it provides a strategic oppositional online protest where activists can participate without fearing professional repercussions, just by blocking celebrities and their brands/ads." "recent protests, juxtaposed against lavish events like the met gala, illustrate the stark contrast between worlds: one flaunting luxury while the other grapples with famine and death due to the perils of war. similarly, a 'let them eat cake' tiktok video posted by kalil sparked outrage, shedding light on the detachment of celebrities from societal realities." miller added: "in today's digital era, celebrity silence on social issues is no longer acceptable. public perception, celebrity sentiments, and brand alignment profoundly influence their following and financial status." may all innocent souls rest in peace 🕊️ #hungergames #metgala #metgala2024 #metgalastyle #metgalaoutfits newsweek looked at social media stats for a handful of celebrities that are live on social blade. this social media analytics website tracks followers on x (formerly twitter) and instagram. tiktok and youtube followers are more difficult to track. some social media users may have blocked accounts without having ever followed them. at the time of writing, singer selena gomez had lost 1.16 million instagram followers and 115,875 followers on x in the last 30 days. in october, fans slammed the 31 year old's "neutral" statement on the conflict. gomez's cosmetics brand, rare beauty, has also faced boycott calls from pro palestinian buyers over ceo scott friedman's alleged support of israel. gal gadot has been vocal in her support for israel, where she served in the israel defense forces under the country's compulsory military service. gadot also helped facilitate an l.a. screening of a film showing the october 7 attack on southern israel by hamas militants. the screening was marred by a mass brawl outside the venue. the actor has been featured in various people's block lists online, and in the last 30 days she has lost 9,405 followers on x and 172,780 on instagram. kim kardashian one of the many celebrities who attended the met gala has lost over 973,000 instagram followers and more than 54,000 x followers in 30 days. taylor swift has lost about 400,000 followers on instagram since may 10 including 103,611 on may 11 alone. in recent days, she has also lost tens of thousands of followers x. actors michael rapaport and adam sandler have also appeared on block lists and they've also been losing followers. both men were among a host of celebrities and entertainment professionals who in november signed an open letter to president joe biden calling for the release of the hostages taken by hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by the u.s. harry styles' name has been featured on block lists as well, but at the time of writing, his instagram stats couldn't be accessed on social blade. his twitter followers have only marginally decreased. the actress zendaya has also been a target of the "blockout." she previously expressed support for palestinians via instagram in october but has received criticism from some social media users for reportedly not sharing anything since. while these celebrities are currently losing followers, they still have hundreds of thousands sometimes millions of followers on their social media platforms. newsweek has emailed spokespeople for gomez, gadot, kardashian, swift, styles, rapaport, sandler, and zendaya for comment. while some have attributed these losses to the blockout, accounts of celebrities who have spoken out in favor of palestinian causes have also been hit, according to social blade. mia khalifa has lost nearly 105,000 instagram followers and over 25,000 x followers in the last 30 days. in the same time frame, emma watson has lost about 180,000 on instagram and 53,000 on x and gigi hadid has lost about 200,000 on instagram and some 3,405 on x. even though the blockout movement may be having an impact, this large drop in followers could also be linked to something as simple as meta aggressively clearing out bots and it wouldn't be the first time. in 2014, instagram scrubbed millions of spam accounts and bots, which resulted in people losing millions of followers overnight. the same thing happened in 2018 when twitter (now x) cracked down on "locked" accounts, i.e. accounts with suspicious activity like excessive posting or that violated twitter rules. the rationale behind blocking celebrities on social media platforms is to affect their influence online and by extension their reach and advertising revenue. whether it will affect their wallets is up for debate. "i would argue that blocking serves as a more impactful protest strategy [than unfollowing], directly affecting celebrities' visibility and engagement, thus impacting their revenue. the movement's long term efficacy hinges on its strategic consistency and avoidance of performative allyship, prioritizing authentic actions over social trends," miller told newsweek. "for example, highlighting your updated celebrity block list online without follow up actions to support awareness, and instead focusing on concrete goals like raising awareness/funds or supporting those activists who are providing firsthand information and updates on the war." however, jordan mcauley, founder of contact any celebrity and celebrity/pr, believes this blockout trend won't negatively impact celebrities' careers. "back in 2014, there was a big 'instapurge' when instagram cracked down on bots and removed millions of celebrities' fake followers. kim kardashian lost about 1.3 million followers that year due to fake bots, and her career did not suffer. if anything, it only got bigger," he told newsweek. "celebrities and their agents, managers, and publicists, are skilled in taking something like this tiktok blackout and turning lemons into lemonade. i don't think her career will suffer at all. her team is probably lining up high profile projects for her right now." cheyenne hunt, a democratic candidate for congress in california and an influencer attorney with almost 93,300 followers on tiktok, told newsweek that the celebrity blockout highlights a significant shift in how younger generations leverage social media. she explained that while many might want to diminish the movement by calling it a "fad," it is actually a "powerful demonstration of their values." "millennials and gen z are moving beyond passive consumption, becoming active participants who hold public figures accountable for social and ethical issues. this is something i saw as the first gen z woman to run for congress and from the feedback i've seen on tiktok and instagram," she said. "millennials and gen zers are more politically and ethically engaged both as fans and consumers than any other generations in recent history. we make decisions in our own lives based on the social issues we care about...thus, we expect the people we look up to and follow to use their platforms for good. this phenomenon is both good and bad as it has spurred celebrities to be more engaged and outspoken, but it has also created a somewhat unrealistic expectation of expertise on complex social and political issues for folks who never purported to be leaders in those spaces." while hunt said it is vital that people let historians, academics and activists be their port of call when it comes to accessing trustworthy information, she said there's nothing wrong with asking people with influence to use their platforms to evoke change. she continued: "the war in gaza has activated millions of people across the world in protest to the violations of palestinian human rights and in today's world, silence or neutrality on an issue like this can be taken as complicity. while celebrities may be trying to dance that line as they always have to preserve their broad market appeal, younger fans and consumers are deeply turned off by such a self interested move in the face of unimaginable suffering." whether this blockout movement affects celebrity brand deals and financial opportunities or not, hunt said it does have the potential to reshape celebrity culture. "these generations are major consumers, and their choices can impact not only follower counts, but also endorsements, collaborations, and overall public perception. it could usher in an era where consumers are changing their expectations and holding celebrities to use their platforms for good, aligning with causes of justice, tech accountability, and human rights," she said. "the blockout could spark a broader change in how social issues are addressed. it's a call to action for both celebrities, who should use their influence responsibly, and fans, who should demand accountability. this dynamic could lead to a more informed and critical public, fostering a culture where activism is a core component of public engagement." newsweek is committed to journalism that's factual and fair. hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter. newsweek is committed to journalism that's factual and fair. hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter. billie is a newsweek pop culture and entertainment reporter based in london who has appeared online, in print and on radio. she has extensively covered pop culture, women's rights and lifestyle topics throughout her career and has interviewed numerous celebrities, including jude law, billy crystal and country singer lainey wilson. originally from sydney, australia, billie moved to london in 2019. she joined newsweek in 2023 and has previously written for stylist, cosmopolitan, popsugar, metro.co.uk, the mirror and business insider, just to name a few. she studied media (communications and journalism) at the university of new south wales. languages: english. you can get in touch with billie by emailing b.schwabdunn@newsweek.com, and on x at @billie_sd. billie is a newsweek pop culture and entertainment reporter based in london who has appeared online, in print and on radio. she has extensively covered pop culture, women's rights and lifestyle topics throughout her career and has interviewed numerous celebrities, including jude law, billy crystal and country singer lainey wilson. originally from sydney, australia, billie moved to london in 2019. she joined newsweek in 2023 and has previously written for stylist, cosmopolitan, popsugar, metro.co.uk, the mirror and business insider, just to name a few. she studied media (communications and journalism) at the university of new south wales. languages: english. you can get in touch with billie by emailing b.schwabdunn@newsweek.com, and on x at @billie_sd. billie is a newsweek pop culture and entertainment reporter based in london who has appeared online, in print and on ... read more newsletters in your inbox see all company editions: contact terms of use © 2025 newsweek digital llc
middle east tensions supported by a tiktok movement is calling for followers to block famous people over their stances on the israel hamas war. it began at the met gala. by elizabeth paton as protests over the war in gaza unfolded blocks away, last week’s met gala was largely devoid of political statements on the red carpet. that the organizers of fashion’s most powerful annual spectacle (one for which tickets cost $75,000 this year) achieved this feat proved surprising to many observers. less than two weeks later, though, a fast growing online protest movement is taking shape. at least, it is on tiktok, the social media platform that was a sponsor of the met event. blockout 2024, also referred to as operation blockout or celebrity block party, targets high profile figures who participants feel are not using their profiles and platforms to speak out about the israel hamas war and wider humanitarian crises. here’s what has happened so far, what supporters hope to achieve and why it all began. the criticism began on may 6, when haley kalil (@haleyybaylee on social media), an influencer who was a host on e! news before the event, posted a tiktok video of herself wearing a lavish 18th century style floral gown and headdress with audio from sofia coppola’s 2006 film “marie antoinette,” in which kirsten dunst proclaims, “let them eat cake!” the clip (for which ms. kalil later apologized and which was deleted) was viewed widely. given the current global conflicts and humanitarian crises, critics described it as “tone deaf.” then posts emerged comparing ostentatious costumes worn by celebrities on the met red carpet to scenes from “the hunger games,” in which affluent citizens in opulent outfits wine and dine while watching the suffering of the impoverished districts for sport. images of zendaya, a met gala co chair, spliced with photographs of palestinian children, incited the online masses. a rallying cry soon came from @ladyfromtheoutside, a tiktok creator who found inspiration in ms. kalil’s parroting of marie antoinette.

 how the met gala triggered a social media #blockout2024   a digital guillotine   against celebrities’ silence on gaza. #blockout 2024 boycotting celebrities over gaza silence the growing protest efforts against israel’s war on gaza have now spawned a cyberspace movement that has erupted in the past few days, targeting celebrities who are seen as being insensitive towards, or even supportive of, the death and destruction in the palestinian enclave. the campaign that took off after the met gala on may 6 has earned the names: blockout 2024, celebrity block list and digitine. the idea is to block famous celebrities on social media networks such as instagram, x and tiktok. but what’s it all about, why are parallels to the french revolution coming up, does blocking a celebrity hurt them, and is the campaign seeing any impact? the blockout 2024 is an online movement where social media users are carrying out a digital boycott of famous celebrities ranging from hollywood actors to social media influencers for their silence on israel’s war on gaza, or in some cases, their purported support for the war.