FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2, 2025
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
‘No Oscars in LA!’ LA Residents Protest Oscars In Face of Recent Repression
“We don’t get basic rights; Hollywood doesn’t get its biggest night”
LOS ANGELES – On Sunday, Los Angeles residents held a large protest outside the Oscars to highlight several issues. While slowing down traffic on its way to Oscars, the group spoke out against Trump's ICE raids terrorizing immigrant communities, the city's failure to freeze rent and mortgages after the wildfires, and its inadequate preparation for those fires. Protesters also criticized the city's lack of action on issues like police brutality, divestment from Israel, the silencing of Palestinian voices in the entertainment industry, and the criminalization of student protests.
They were met with a large police presence. In an aggressive attempt to silence free speech, LAPD used kettling tactics to suppress their message. Initially a CODEPINK activist was arrested but the police let them go after the group negotiated with them. Even though the protesters were complying, they were still ticketed with a required court visit for allegedly “failing to disperse.”
Jodie Evans, co-founder of CODEPINK and film producer, who is currently co-leading a campaign to get Netflix to reinstate their Palestinian film collection, was at the protest. On Thursday, she delivered a petition signed by thousands to actress Angelina Jolie, asking the Hollywood star to use her influence to help pressure Netflix to reverse their recent repression of Palestinian voices.
“We were walking the streets lined with limousines going to the Oscars with the message of ‘Free Palestine’ because Hollywood is silencing Palestinian stories and Palestinian voices. Today, there is an Oscar nominated film about Palestine that does not have distribution. First time in the history of the Oscars that has happened. There is also Netflix, who's canceled Palestinian stories.” explained Evans.
“And they kettled and threatened to arrest us for speaking out for the Palestinian people. Shameful. It is silencing on top of silencing,” she continued.
The protests called out Hollywood's complicity in supporting an oppressive agenda, including the industry's role in diminishing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and its refusal to address or condemn the violence against Palestinians were highlighted as part of a broader pattern of dehumanization and silencing.
Protesters pointed to the failure to implement rent freezes after the January wildfires, the lack of protections for tenants, and the city's eagerness to carry out Trump's immigration agenda. Despite claiming a lack of funds for fire departments, the city had tried to allocate $2 million to nonprofits like "Magen Am," an armed patrol service linked to the Israeli military. Meanwhile, the LAPD received disproportionate funding, leading to protests over the city's priorities.
"Neither genocide, nor wildfires, nor ICE raids have woken up officials to the harm caused by their negligent governance. As for Hollywood, they should be highlighting these issues tonight and they must stop repressing anti-genocide voices, or we'll speak their language—disrupting their money,” stated Miriam Arghandiwal of Entertainment Labor for Palestine.
“We’re excited for and support for the Oscar nomination of the documentary film “No Other Land,” but one film's nomination doesn’t change the systemic discrimination of Palestinians in this industry and being an Oscar nominated film without distribution is a testament to that.” she continued.
ICE raids, including one coordinated with the FBI and DEA, were also condemned along with the city's response to protests against Israel's genocide of Palestinians, especially the failure to protect students on college campuses and efforts to criminalize protests.
The city's priorities have favored profits over the welfare of vulnerable communities. The Oscars, a symbol of Hollywood's excess, exemplify how the city hosts lavish events while ignoring its most urgent issues.
CODEPINK Los Angeles, Entertainment Labor for Palestine, IATSE Members of Palestine, and Artists Against Apartheid organized the protest.
For more information or to request more photos/videos, please contact Melissa at [email protected].
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