Award season often sees celebrities using the red carpet to make political statements, and this year’s 2024 TV BAFTAs is no different. Some celebrities attending the awards show have chosen to wear red pins, leading to a spike in Google searches for ‘What does the red pin mean?’
What does the red pin mean that celebrities are wearing at the TV BAFTAs?
Many celebrities chose to wear a red pin with a hand on it, and a black heart inside the hand, at the TV BAFTAs – including Joe Lycett, Steve Coogan and Brian Cox. The red pins are intended to show support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It’s the same pin that Billie Eilish, director Ava DuVernay, Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef all wore to the red carpet for the 96th Academy Awards earlier this year.
‘We’re all calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. We’re calling for the safety of everyone involved. We really want lasting justice and peace for the Palestinian people,’ Youssef said during a red-carpet interview at the time. ‘We really just want to say, “Let’s just stop killing children.” There’s so much there to process and it feels like the easiest way to have the conversations that people want to have is when there isn’t an active bombing campaign happening.’
The pins were designed by Artists4Ceasefire, who describe themselves as ‘a collective of artists and advocates who have come together in response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Israel and Palestine.’
The most recent news on Israel and Gaza revolves around the escalating violence in Rafah. Israel has reportedly told tens of thousands of Palestinians to leave Rafah, as it intensifies military operations. This comes after the US and other allies warned Israel that a ground offensive could lead to mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis.
‘As Israeli Forces bombardment intensifies in Rafah, forced displacement continues,’ the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said in a post on X. ‘Around 110,000 people have now fled Rafah looking for safety. But, nowhere is safe in the Gaza Strip and living conditions are atrocious. The only hope is an immediate ceasefire.’
UN aid agencies have warned that the humanitarian operations in Gaza are being crippled. ‘Impossibly, again, it will worsen if humanitarian operations are not revived in the next 48 hours,’ said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Senior Emergency Coordinator in the Gaza Strip, Hamish Young.
Which celebrities are wearing the red pin at the TV BAFTAs?
As well as those mentioned above, Nicole Ansari, Luke Rollason, Sofia Oxenham, Bilal Hasna, Máiréad Tyers and Stefanie Martini were among the celebrities sporting the red pin on the red carpet.
According to Artists4Ceasefire, the pin is ‘composed of a red background to symbolize the urgency of the call to save lives. The orange hand conveys the beautiful community of people from all backgrounds that have come together in support of centering our shared humanity. The heart being cradled in the center of the hand is an invitation for us to lead with our hearts, always, to lead with love. When we lead with love, we understand that all of our fellow beings deserve to be loved and protected.’