feature image photo by Myung J. Chun / Contributor via Getty Images

When Jean Smart won the award for Best Actress in a Comedy for her role as Deborah Vance on Hacks early on in the 2025 Emmy Awards broadcast, I texted one of my group chats: manifesting Hannah win.

I wanted Hannah Einbinder to win an Emmy not because it would be her first time securing a much deserved win after being nominated every single year of Hacks‘ four-season run. Yes, she deserves the award. Yes, she would have been my top pick on merit alone. First wins are exciting, and there were a few big ones last night, including Tramell Tillman first personal win which was also the first time a Black actor had won for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama at the Emmys. But the real reason I wanted Einbinder to win an Emmy was because I had a feeling that, if she did, she’d be the only winner in a sea of celebrities with enough of a backbone to actually say the words “free Palestine” into a mic.

Even when Jean Smart won her own category, when a camera cut to Einbinder’s emotional reaction for her co-star’s win, I noticed she turned her body slightly so the camera would more squarely capture the red pin affixed to her dress, a small symbol of solidarity with Palestine. Even before she had a moment in the spotlight, she was trying to signal where she stands (against genocide, which apparently is too controversial a stance for most celebrities in that room to take).

But then Einbinder did indeed take home her first Emmy. Thankfully ignoring the hokey and ultimately limiting speech cutoff time game implemented by the host, she ended her speech with a rallying cry very true to her: “Go Birds, Fuck ICE, Free Palestine.”

I was watching live, and the “fuck ICE” portion of the three-part declaration cut out due to network censors, but I texted that same group chat again accurately guessing the missing words, which were later confirmed all over social media. No other winner speeches of the evening had the same political teeth to them as Einbinder’s. While the silence of famous actors on Gaza is unsurprising given the long history of even the most progressive celebrities holding Zionist beliefs or choosing to remain silent in the face of Palestinian death, Einbinder was also the only winner to explicitly denounce ICE, which has escalated their violent raids, abductions, and detentions of immigrant populations in Los Angeles, right in the backyard of these awards. Many of the actors in that room were quick to be vocal about the devastating wildfires that destroyed many homes and communities in Los Angeles but have been silent about the human destruction enacted by ICE in their city.

Other queer artists also found ways to signal their advocacy for a free Palestine, like Abbott Elementary‘s (and recent Autostraddle TV Awards winner) Brittani Nichols, who was among the folks at the event wearing the red artists4ceasefire pin Einbinder also wore. Meg Stalter skipped the pomp and circumstance of designer fits to sport jeans and a white tee, complete with a purse that read CEASEFIRE NOW. On her Instagram, her fit dump post was accompanied by the caption: “End Occupation. Permanent cease fire in Gaza. ♥️” Javier Bardem (not queer but an actor with a long history of political activism) continued his long-standing advocacy for Palestine by wearing a keffiyeh and using his red carpet airtime to call attention to and condemn the genocide. Listen, he’s a real one. He and his wife Penelope Cruz have been denouncing Israeli genocide for over a decade.

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Einbinder was the only winner of the night to explicitly call for a free Palestine. It’s rarely the biggest, most famous, most platformed artists at these events taking a stand. So often it’s queer or otherwise marginalized artists using these events as a moment for visibility and advocacy for Palestinian liberation. Of course, it’s these artists who also stand the most to lose by saying something. Einbinder’s speech was not given in a vacuum; she has been using awards ceremonies and her personal social media platforms to call attention to the genocide consistently over the past few years, including in her speech while accepting an award from the HRC. Earlier this month, she was part of a coordinated action with multiple chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace in California where members occupied U.S. Senator Adam Schiff’s office calling on him to stop taking money from AIPAC and to support an arms embargo on Israel.

While slipping a few words into an acceptance speech may seem like a small thing, given the ways these awards ceremonies serve as “distractions” from ongoing global violence, these moments are actually significant. Many activists have pointed toward Israel’s tendency to escalate violence in conjunction with major broadcasts like sporting events and awards ceremonies, as media attention is largely diverted to such things. Al Jazeera reports that on Sunday, Israel’s attacks leveled 16 buildings in Gaza City and killed 53 Palestinians. Today, many mainstream news, culture, and entertainment publications that have perpetuated Zionist propaganda and been complicit in the manufacturing of consent for this U.S.-backed genocide will capitalize on traffic garnered by posts about Einbinder’s speech. Meanwhile, I wouldn’t be surprised if our post about Einbinder’s speech gets us some level of shadowbanned on social media.

Aside from the scattered red pins, Bardem’s words on the red carpet, Stalter’s post, and Einbinder’s speech, the Emmys were, as usual, a largely apolitical affair. Some of the stars and creatives of The Pitt spoke in support of healthcare workers (with no mention of the many healthcare workers killed by Israel). But overall, the Emmys functioned the way so many mainstream Hollywood institutions do, sticking to the status quo. At least Einbinder found one small way to challenge it.

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