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?
What is Blockout 2024?
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.
Why was this year’s Met Gala so controversial?
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.
🚨BLOCKOUT 2024 IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE!🚨
Blockout 2024 has now become prevalent across all major social media channels, including Instagram, TikTok and X, formerly Twitter.
Let us all block all these heartless celebrities who are only loyal to their own pockets! They don't… pic.twitter.com/QcrpPEc42p
— Call2ActionNow (@Call2actionnow) May 19, 2024
The ‘let them eat cake’ moment
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.
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”.
• Billie Eilish: 1.1M followers
• Kim Kardashian: 780,000 followers
• Beyonce: 689,000 followers⛔ 'Blockout 2024' gains traction on social media over celebrities silence on Gaza war, leading to significant follower losses for several public figures on Instagram and other… pic.twitter.com/POcoMtqK0W
— Palestine and MENA Info Center (@PALMENA_IC) May 13, 2024
Users online have now started calling the Blockout, the “digitine” or the digital guillotine, leaning into the French Revolution reference.
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.
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.
If you've been noticing more people talking about blocking celebrities and influencers on social media since the Met Gala, you're not alone. Here's why some users are taking part in the #Blockout movement. https://t.co/lsNw4dUb3p pic.twitter.com/nUgHeL9ZFW
— Yahoo Entertainment (@YahooEnt) May 13, 2024
How have people reacted to the Blockout?
While many social media users online have been proponents and participants of the movement, others have described it as an example of performative activism.
The BLOCKOUT is Working
They were silent about the genøcļde or supposed Izrael
This is the side effect. KEEP BLOCKING pic.twitter.com/9WhRAGZdJJ
— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) May 16, 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.
Has the Blockout made a difference so far?
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, May 11, NPR reported that Taylor Swift lost roughly 300,000 followers on TikTok and about 50,000 followers on Instagram over the past week.
🚨BLOCKOUT 2024 IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE!🚨
Blockout 2024 has now become prevalent across all major social media channels, including Instagram, TikTok and X, formerly Twitter.
Let us all block all these heartless celebrities who are only loyal to their own pockets! They don't… pic.twitter.com/QcrpPEc42p
— Call2ActionNow (@Call2actionnow) May 19, 2024
According to TRT World, Selena Gomez, actress and singer, lost one million followers on Instagram and 100,000 on X.
Zendaya, actress and singer, lost 153,000 followers on Instagram and 40,000 on X.
Kim Kardashian, reality TV star, and social media influencer, lost 780,000 followers on Instagram.
Kylie Jenner, reality TV star, lost 540,000 followers on Instagram and 53,000 on X.
Billie Eilish, singer-songwriter, lost 1.1 million followers on Instagram.
• Billie Eilish: 1.1M followers
• Kim Kardashian: 780,000 followers
• Beyonce: 689,000 followers⛔ 'Blockout 2024' gains traction on social media over celebrities silence on Gaza genocide, leading to significant follower losses for several public figures pic.twitter.com/lMp21f9QHZ
— Mrs. Vandal 🐝 (@MissRinaIdrus) May 19, 2024
Beyonce, an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, and actress, lost 689,000 followers on Instagram.
Rihanna, singer and actress, lost 110,000 followers on X.
“They [celebrities] live off of our attention,” an X user posted. “If they don’t have any, they cease to exert their influence.” – Al Jazeera
Celebrities losing followers thanks to blockout 2024 movement pic.twitter.com/5a5fzwD5VW
— Haitham Abdelhadi (@Haitham47117914) May 15, 2024
