Javier Bardem says Hollywood blacklisters who condemn actors speaking up for Palestine “will be exposed”
"They will be the ones suffering the so-called consequences," the Oscar-winner said. "This is a major change"
by Poppy Burton · NMEJavier Bardem believes the tide is turning for actors speaking up for Palestine, and has said that “everyone is beginning to realise” that Hollywood blacklisting was “unacceptable”.
The Oscar-winner is at Cannes for his latest film, The Beloved, and was asked today (May 17) if he ever feared the consequences of denouncing the war in Gaza. Bardem has long been a vocal supporter of Palestine, most recently using his platform at the Oscars to declare “no to war and free Palestine”.
“The fear does exist, granted, but one has to do things even if you feel a bit scared or afraid,” he replied, per Variety. “You have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror, look at yourself in the eyes, and that was my case. My mother taught me to be the way I am. There is no plan B. This entails consequences, which I am fully ready to shoulder.”
Bardem then spoke about changes he felt were happening across Hollywood, which comes just months after Susan Sarandon said she had been blacklisted after calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in 2023.
Bardem, however, said he had “a whole host of offers” come in from across the US, Europe, South America, and in Spain. “That made me think that in narratives things are changing,” he said.
“Everyone is beginning to realise, thanks to the younger generation, which is more aware of situations, situations we’re experiencing quite directly on our phones and on other screens.
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“Therefore, I think what is happening is quite the contrary. I believe that those who are drawing up the so-called blacklists will actually be exposed, and they will be the ones suffering the so-called consequences, at least on a public and social level. And this is a major change.”
He went on to say that genocide being committed in Gaza was an unequivocal fact. “You can fight against it, you can try to justify it, explain it,” he said. “You can be against it, or you can justify it,” Bardem said. “If you justify it with your silence or with your support, you are pro-genocide. Those are facts, for me.”
Last September, the United Nations found that Israel had committed genocide. At the time, Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission, said it was “clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.”
“The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza,” Pillay said. “The Commission also finds that Israel has failed to prevent and punish the commission of genocide, through failure to investigate genocidal acts and to prosecute alleged perpetrators.”
Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of waging genocide, and denies committing any war crimes, maintaining that its operations are lawful acts of self-defence following Hamas’ attack on Israeli citizens at the Nova Music Festival on October 7 2023, which killed over 1,100 people and saw 250 taken as hostages.
Bardem’s statement follows him clarifying his support for Film Workers for Palestine. He was among a number of fellow entertainment world figures, including Olivia Colman, Mark Ruffalo, Tilda Swinton and Ayo Edebiri, who vowed not to work with Israeli institutions amid the conflict in Gaza.
Explaining that the group holds “companies and institutions” to account rather than “individuals”, he told CNN: “I want this to be very clear. We do not discriminate against any person based on their nationality, race, religion, or gender. We of course believe discrimination of any kind is wrong and do not support that and have continued to reiterate this.
“We support holding companies and institutions all over the world accountable, not individuals, for their complicity and participation in the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and the illegal settlement of the West Bank.”