LONDON: A new trend threatening to boycott celebrities over their refusal to speak out about the Gaza conflict is gaining momentum on social media.
Known as “Blockout 2024,” the movement has surged in popularity following the Met Gala last week.
As part of a solidarity campaign, social media users are calling for the blocking of accounts of celebrities who have remained silent on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
High-profile figures such as Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Drake are among the hundreds of celebrities facing this “digital guillotine.”
A full list is circulating on social media, leading to a significant loss of followers on Instagram and other platforms.
Actress and singer Selena Gomez reportedly lost 1 million followers on Instagram and 100,000 on X, according to US-based social media analytics site Sonic Blue.
Fellow actress and singer Zendaya, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, and her sister Kylie Jenner have also seen hundreds of thousands of followers drop.
Pro-Palestinian activists have been pressuring celebrities for months to show more support for Gaza civilians. This growing discontent reached a tipping point last week when the Met Gala’s glitz and glamour coincided with Israel’s announcement of a military offensive in Rafah.
@ladyfromtheoutside #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo #digitine #digitalguillotine #haleyybaylee ♬ original sound - Meagan
The movement was sparked by a TikTok video from influencer Haley Kalil at the Met Gala on May 7, where she lip-synced to the phrase “Let them eat cake.”
This phrase, attributed to Queen Marie Antoinette, drew parallels to the French Revolution, symbolizing indifference to the suffering of the impoverished.
“It’s time for the people to conduct what I want to call a ‘digital guillotine.’ A ‘digitine,’ if you will,” said TikTok creator @ladyfromtheoutside, who kicked off the movement with her viral video.
“It’s time to block all the celebrities, influencers and wealthy socialites who are not using their resources to help those in dire need. We gave them their platforms. It’s time to take it back, take our views away, our likes, our comments, our money.”
According to Gaza authorities, at least 35,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the Palestinian territory during the seven-month war, which has been widely condemned as failing to comply with international humanitarian law.
