Spanish actor Javier Bardem delivered a pro-Palestinian message from the Oscars stage on March 15, declaring “No to war and free Palestine” to an applause from the Dolby Theatre audience.
Presenting the Oscar for Best International Feature Film alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Bardem paused before announcing the winner to issue the statement, which quickly trended worldwide under #Oscars2026.
He arrived on the red carpet wearing a pin reading “Palestine” and held up a placard reading “No a la Guerra” (No to the war) in Spanish, the same phrase he used in 2003 to protest the Iraq invasion.
Bardem, a longtime advocate for Palestinian rights, went further in his remarks, condemning what he called the “illegal war” in Iran and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. He referenced the International Association of Genocide Scholars’ declaration and called for a commercial and diplomatic blockade and sanctions on Israel.
“Back then, it was weapons of mass destruction. Now it’s the regime they want to defeat,” he said, directly criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “the same liars, the same manipulative people.”
Bardem’s intervention was part of a broader wave of Palestinian resistance and solidarity visible throughout the evening. The Jordanian-Palestinian film The Voice of Hind Rajab, which tells the true story of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2024, was nominated for Best International Feature but did not win.
The film’s creators were banned from the United States and thus could not be present at the ceremony.
Its cast and crew wore Artists4Ceasefire pins demanding a permanent end to the violence. British-Indian actress Charithra Chandran, wearing the pin, told reporters she felt “blessed to have a platform” to remind the world that “the people in Gaza and the West Bank are still suffering.”Since the war on Gaza in 2023 by Israel, the region has witnessed a tragic loss of life, particularly among children. As of late 2025, the United Nations reported that at least 20000 children have been killed, and many more have been injured.
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