Celebrities and influencers are no longer immune to the repercussions of staying silent on critical social issues.
While they have long enjoyed a pedestal of admiration, this might be a thing of the past due to a movement called #Blockout2024 where it calls for social media users to block celebrities and influencers who are remaining silent about Israel's war against Palestine.
With the blockout movement gaining traction across social media, it appears that celebrities and high-profile influencers are losing followers.
In a video report by TRT World, it displayed the plummeting numbers of followers through the profiles of several A-list celebs and influencers such as Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift and Haley Bailey.
This includes the high profile names who attended the prestigious Met Gala on may 6, the same night Israel bombed the last so-called "safe zone” in Rafah, Gaza.
Now in addition to celebrities, the movement is also targeting pro-Israel brands and news outlets who are believed to be whitewashing Tel Aviv crimes in the beseiged enclave.
TikTokers such as @littleyeg are among those who called for others to block celebrities until they speak up for Palestine.
Influencer Haley Bailey, who attended the Met Gala 2024, said "Let them eat the cake" in a short video while dressed up as Marie Antoinette, triggered anger among TikTokers, who said that it fits into the narrative that the Gazans are suffering from hunger crises while rich celebrities are on another plane of ignorance.
The main objective for TikTokers to call for a mass block is to make celebrities notice and feel pushed to speak up about the Palestine situation. By significantly reducing their followers, they won't be able to earn ad revenue.
User @blockout2024 was found on TikTok to specifically announce blocks of the week, where his biodata, captioning announcement of block of the week today, goes by "Block of the Week: Taylor Swift (Spotify)."
He recently posted a TikTok video, raising 117.1k likes at the time of writing and 546k views, to raise awareness about the project, urging netizens to make mass blocking "a trend."
He said, "For this week, make it a trend. Post your own block list," and use the hashtag #blockout2024 while at it."
Accounts like @madeline.lillian, @anat.international, and @p3rcyvr have joined the trend, accumulating tens of thousands of likes in each video of them saying that they have joined the trend and showing their block lists.
The block list shows celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, the Kardashians, and the Jenners, all of whom are understood to be "blatantly" ignorant of the Palestine situation by not speaking up about it at all on their social media.
During the Met Gala 2024, pro-Palestine protesters made their voices heard outside the fashion event, demanding an end to the ruthless war in Gaza. However, several demonstrators were arrested by the police.