Taylor Swift's attendance at a comedy show hosted by Ramy Youssef on Friday night prompted some social media users to question if it amounts to a show support for Palestinians amid the war with Israel.
People magazine shared photos of Swift and some friends, such as actresses Selena Gomez, Anya Taylor-Joy and Cara Delevingne, attending the show in Brooklyn, New York. On his Instagram, Youssef announced that "100% of the proceeds" from the remainder of his standup comedy tour will be donated to American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) "providing humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza."
On October 7, Hamas militants led a surprise attack on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said shortly after the attack that his country was "at war," and the U.S. has continued to support Israel and its efforts over the past several weeks.
"The President emphasized the critical need to protect civilians and to separate the civilian population from Hamas including through corridors that allow people to move safely from defined areas of hostilities," the White House said in a recent readout of President Joe Biden's call with Netanyahu.
There was no indication that Swift or other celebrities at the event donated money, and Swift has not publicly spoken about the war.
"taylor going to see a comedy show is not her actively supporting Gaza. this is Ramy actively supporting Gaza," user @hcwrudeofme wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Similarly, user @cherrypascal wrote, "Ramy Youssef donated proceeds to Gaza. Taylor Swift just went to a comedy show."
User @officialkithale said, "Ramy Youssef is putting his entire career on the line for standing up for what's right. Taylor swift went to a show."
On the other hand, some social media users speculated that Swift's attendance was to show support for the people of Gaza.
"taylor swift attending ramy's show is her supporting causes that aid victims of genocide," user @theantiqueswift wrote.
Last week, some Swift fans spoke about her winning Time magazine's "Person of the Year" award and criticized her for not speaking out about the war.
"I'm a massive Taylor Swift fan, and you can make the argument that pop stars shouldn't need to speak out about war/conflict/genocide (I disagree but you can argue this). But Taylor has defined herself as someone who now speaks out on issues, even if it costs her," one X user said. "Taylor must feel something about the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Her silence is an active choice and it betrays the image of herself that she created."
As Swift has remained silent on the war, the official Israel account on X previously called on her to use her platform to speak about it.
Newsweek reached out to representatives for Swift via email for comment.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
