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Artists were once dangerous to tyrants, their art was truth-telling to power
In the West, outrage has become performance art. ItAs not about real
causes, but about carefully branded ones that play well in pastel
Instagram carousels. Climate change? Of course. A vague plea for
ojusticeo? Naturally. A curated oFree Palestineo hashtag? Absolutely.
But when it comes to standing with their peers in the Middle East u
singers, actors, writers who are literally jailed or executed for their
art u the voices vanish.
This isnAt about Israel. The point is larger: why do so many Western
artists reserve their outrage for one convenient villain while ignoring >regimes that jail, torture and kill their peers? SyriaAs Christians and >Druze are being ethnically cleansed. Yemen is enduring a famine. The
Uyghurs in China and Christians in the Congo suffer horrors that make >Western protest slogans look like parody. But those crises donAt trend
on TikTok. And so our moral guardians stay silent.
Take Turkey. Pop star Mabel Matia was dragged into court, slapped with a >travel ban for a song with LGBTQ themes u branded as oimmoralityo by >Erdo?anAs government. Where was Lady Gaga, a self-proclaimed advocate
for the LGBTQ community, when this happened? Actor Cem Yitzik Fukuzumi, >known from NetflixAs Rise of Empires: Ottoman, faces seven years in
prison for posting an Instagram story calling for a boycott after
IstanbulAs opposition mayor was arrested. Where were Mark Ruffalo and
Javier Bardem? These are not rebels with guns u they are artists with
words, punished as if they were criminals.
Iran is even darker. Musician Mohsen Shekhar was publicly hanged in 2022
u his ocrimeo nothing more than protesting against the regime. Rapper
Tomato Saleh was sentenced to death the same year for lyrics critical of
the authorities, accused of oenmity against God.o He was spared only
after global outrage forced the regimeAs hand. WhereAs Hollywood when
this happens?
These are the true causes that should evoke outrage: a song punished as >immoral, a post punished as treason, lyrics punished as blasphemy. In
the Middle East, art itself can be a death sentence. And yet from
Hollywood? Silence.
Contrast that with the U.S. this month. Jimmy Kimmel faced backlash for >comments about Charlie KirkAs murder. His temporary suspension triggered
an avalanche of headlines. Disney reportedly lost between $4 and $5
billion in market value. That was one man, one career, one late-night
show. Meanwhile, artists across the Middle East arenAt just losing jobs
u theyAre losing their freedom and their lives. Where was the celebrity >chorus for them?
Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon have plenty of time for press
conferences about Gaza. Billie Eilish can summon her fans to demand a >ceasefire. But for their fellow artists u their actual peers u who risk >prison or the gallows for a song, a lyric, or a post? Not a word.
Apparently solidarity stops where the headlines end.
The truth is that many of these artists arenAt radicals or rebels at
all. They are brand managers. Their conscience extends only as far as
their fanbase and their ticket sales. They pick causes the way others
pick outfits: whatever flatters them, whatever gets applause, whatever
comes risk-free. Supporting Gaza? Safe. Supporting Uyghurs? Risky.
Speaking up for a jailed Iranian rapper? Not worth losing a Spotify stream.
Artists were once dangerous to tyrants. Solzhenitsyn in the Soviet
Union, Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia u their art was truth-telling in
the face of power. TodayAs artists, by contrast, pen open letters to >guarantee free PR and social media applause. They confuse hashtags with >heroism.
And so one canAt help but wonder: do these celebrities care about
justice at all? Or is it simply self-interest, attaching themselves to a >fashionable cause to stay relevant? As long as the slogan looks good on
a T-shirt and the cause is safe to support, theyAll perform their
outrage. But when bravery is required u when it might cost them
something u they retreat into silence.
Art is supposed to speak truth to power. TodayAs celebrities speak only
to the algorithm. And for their fellow artists, silence isnAt
neutrality. ItAs betrayal.
Sarah Idan (Miss Universe Iraq 2017)--
Artists were once dangerous to tyrants, their art was truth-telling to power
In the West, outrage has become performance art. ItrCOs not about real causes, but about carefully branded ones that play well in pastel
Instagram carousels. Climate change? Of course. A vague plea for rCLjusticerCY? Naturally. A curated rCLFree PalestinerCY hashtag? Absolutely. But when it comes to standing with their peers in the Middle East rCo singers, actors, writers who are literally jailed or executed for their
art rCo the voices vanish.
This isnrCOt about Israel. The point is larger: why do so many Western artists reserve their outrage for one convenient villain while ignoring regimes that jail, torture and kill their peers? SyriarCOs Christians and Druze are being ethnically cleansed. Yemen is enduring a famine. The
Uyghurs in China and Christians in the Congo suffer horrors that make
Western protest slogans look like parody. But those crises donrCOt trend
on TikTok. And so our moral guardians stay silent.
Take Turkey. Pop star Mabel Matia was dragged into court, slapped with a travel ban for a song with LGBTQ themes rCo branded as rCLimmoralityrCY by Erdo-fanrCOs government. Where was Lady Gaga, a self-proclaimed advocate
for the LGBTQ community, when this happened? Actor Cem Yitzik Fukuzumi,
known from NetflixrCOs Rise of Empires: Ottoman, faces seven years in
prison for posting an Instagram story calling for a boycott after IstanbulrCOs opposition mayor was arrested. Where were Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem? These are not rebels with guns rCo they are artists with words, punished as if they were criminals.
Iran is even darker. Musician Mohsen Shekhar was publicly hanged in 2022
rCo his rCLcrimerCY nothing more than protesting against the regime. Rapper Tomato Saleh was sentenced to death the same year for lyrics critical of
the authorities, accused of rCLenmity against God.rCY He was spared only after global outrage forced the regimerCOs hand. WhererCOs Hollywood when this happens?
These are the true causes that should evoke outrage: a song punished as immoral, a post punished as treason, lyrics punished as blasphemy. In
the Middle East, art itself can be a death sentence. And yet from
Hollywood? Silence.
Contrast that with the U.S. this month. Jimmy Kimmel faced backlash for comments about Charlie KirkrCOs murder. His temporary suspension triggered
an avalanche of headlines. Disney reportedly lost between $4 and $5
billion in market value. That was one man, one career, one late-night
show. Meanwhile, artists across the Middle East arenrCOt just losing jobs
rCo theyrCOre losing their freedom and their lives. Where was the celebrity chorus for them?
Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon have plenty of time for press
conferences about Gaza. Billie Eilish can summon her fans to demand a ceasefire. But for their fellow artists rCo their actual peers rCo who risk prison or the gallows for a song, a lyric, or a post? Not a word.
Apparently solidarity stops where the headlines end.
The truth is that many of these artists arenrCOt radicals or rebels at
all. They are brand managers. Their conscience extends only as far as
their fanbase and their ticket sales. They pick causes the way others
pick outfits: whatever flatters them, whatever gets applause, whatever
comes risk-free. Supporting Gaza? Safe. Supporting Uyghurs? Risky.
Speaking up for a jailed Iranian rapper? Not worth losing a Spotify stream.
Artists were once dangerous to tyrants. Solzhenitsyn in the Soviet
Union, Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia rCo their art was truth-telling in
the face of power. TodayrCOs artists, by contrast, pen open letters to guarantee free PR and social media applause. They confuse hashtags with heroism.
And so one canrCOt help but wonder: do these celebrities care about
justice at all? Or is it simply self-interest, attaching themselves to a fashionable cause to stay relevant? As long as the slogan looks good on
a T-shirt and the cause is safe to support, theyrCOll perform their
outrage. But when bravery is required rCo when it might cost them
something rCo they retreat into silence.
Art is supposed to speak truth to power. TodayrCOs celebrities speak only
to the algorithm. And for their fellow artists, silence isnrCOt
neutrality. ItrCOs betrayal.
Sarah Idan (Miss Universe Iraq 2017)
On Sun, 5 Oct 2025 21:18:42 +0100, Julian <julianlzb87@gmail.com>
wrote:
Artists were once dangerous to tyrants, their art was truth-telling to power >>
In the West, outrage has become performance art. ItAs not about real >>causes, but about carefully branded ones that play well in pastel >>Instagram carousels. Climate change? Of course. A vague plea for >>ojusticeo? Naturally. A curated oFree Palestineo hashtag? Absolutely.
But when it comes to standing with their peers in the Middle East u >>singers, actors, writers who are literally jailed or executed for their >>art u the voices vanish.
It is proven. It is quite literally possible to poopoo anything.
--This isnAt about Israel. The point is larger: why do so many Western >>artists reserve their outrage for one convenient villain while ignoring >>regimes that jail, torture and kill their peers? SyriaAs Christians and >>Druze are being ethnically cleansed. Yemen is enduring a famine. The >>Uyghurs in China and Christians in the Congo suffer horrors that make >>Western protest slogans look like parody. But those crises donAt trend
on TikTok. And so our moral guardians stay silent.
If all that is being ignored, how did you find out about it?
Take Turkey. Pop star Mabel Matia was dragged into court, slapped with a >>travel ban for a song with LGBTQ themes u branded as oimmoralityo by >>Erdo?anAs government. Where was Lady Gaga, a self-proclaimed advocate
for the LGBTQ community, when this happened? Actor Cem Yitzik Fukuzumi, >>known from NetflixAs Rise of Empires: Ottoman, faces seven years in
prison for posting an Instagram story calling for a boycott after >>IstanbulAs opposition mayor was arrested. Where were Mark Ruffalo and >>Javier Bardem? These are not rebels with guns u they are artists with >>words, punished as if they were criminals.
Iran is even darker. Musician Mohsen Shekhar was publicly hanged in 2022
u his ocrimeo nothing more than protesting against the regime. Rapper >>Tomato Saleh was sentenced to death the same year for lyrics critical of >>the authorities, accused of oenmity against God.o He was spared only
after global outrage forced the regimeAs hand. WhereAs Hollywood when
this happens?
These are the true causes that should evoke outrage: a song punished as >>immoral, a post punished as treason, lyrics punished as blasphemy. In
the Middle East, art itself can be a death sentence. And yet from >>Hollywood? Silence.
Contrast that with the U.S. this month. Jimmy Kimmel faced backlash for >>comments about Charlie KirkAs murder. His temporary suspension triggered >>an avalanche of headlines. Disney reportedly lost between $4 and $5 >>billion in market value. That was one man, one career, one late-night >>show. Meanwhile, artists across the Middle East arenAt just losing jobs
u theyAre losing their freedom and their lives. Where was the celebrity >>chorus for them?
Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon have plenty of time for press
conferences about Gaza. Billie Eilish can summon her fans to demand a >>ceasefire. But for their fellow artists u their actual peers u who risk >>prison or the gallows for a song, a lyric, or a post? Not a word. >>Apparently solidarity stops where the headlines end.
The truth is that many of these artists arenAt radicals or rebels at
all. They are brand managers. Their conscience extends only as far as >>their fanbase and their ticket sales. They pick causes the way others
pick outfits: whatever flatters them, whatever gets applause, whatever >>comes risk-free. Supporting Gaza? Safe. Supporting Uyghurs? Risky. >>Speaking up for a jailed Iranian rapper? Not worth losing a Spotify stream. >>
Artists were once dangerous to tyrants. Solzhenitsyn in the Soviet
Union, Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia u their art was truth-telling in
the face of power. TodayAs artists, by contrast, pen open letters to >>guarantee free PR and social media applause. They confuse hashtags with >>heroism.
And so one canAt help but wonder: do these celebrities care about
justice at all? Or is it simply self-interest, attaching themselves to a >>fashionable cause to stay relevant? As long as the slogan looks good on
a T-shirt and the cause is safe to support, theyAll perform their
outrage. But when bravery is required u when it might cost them
something u they retreat into silence.
Art is supposed to speak truth to power. TodayAs celebrities speak only
to the algorithm. And for their fellow artists, silence isnAt
neutrality. ItAs betrayal.
Sarah Idan (Miss Universe Iraq 2017)