Every Celebrity at the Super Bowl and What They’ve Said About Gaza

A lot of stuff happened during the Super Bowl on Sunday night. The Kansas City Chiefs won. Taylor Swift was happy. Usher performed. Beyonce announced Act II, a country music follow-up to Renaissance. Celebrities – Paul Rudd, Ice Spice, Kim Kardashian – turned up to watch the game. And, in the early hours of Monday morning, Israel began bombing Rafah, the southernmost city on the Egyptian border.

Over a million Palestinians have fled the conflict in the rest of Gaza and are now sheltering in Rafah, where civilians have reported widespread hunger, cramped living conditions and poor sanitation. The Israeli army, which previously told civilians to evacuate south to Rafah, is now threatening to launch a ground invasion of the city, having killed 67 Palestinians during the most recent air strikes. UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has warned that Israel already appears to be breaching the orders issued by the International Court of Justice to take all measures to prevent genocide and protect Palestinian civilians’ human rights. 

Waking up to a timeline full of Super Bowl pics, while newborns were being bombed in Gaza, was a hard thing to reconcile – and made us wonder if any of those celebrities had used their platform to comment on the situation in Palestine. We looked over social media posts, official statements and open letters to find out.

Nine out of the 20 biggest celebrities at the Super Bowl – including Taylor Swift and Beyonce – did not comment publicly after the Hamas attack or the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. The remainder published or reshared Instagram posts and Stories, though some deleted them swiftly after receiving criticism. Three Super Bowl guests – Paul Rudd, Lana Del Rey and Jon Hamm – signed the #NoHostageLeftBehind open letter. Here’s the list so far.

The Tortured Poets Department musician has not spoken publicly about Gaza, Israel or Palestine. 

The Renaissance singer, who announced her latest project at the Super Bowl, has not spoken publicly about Gaza, Israel or Palestine. In November, she was criticised by fans for screening the Renaissance concert film in Israel. 

After the Hamas attack on October 7th, the Super Bowl performer posted a picture reading #IStandWithIsrael, which he deleted shortly afterwards. He also posted a statement on Instagram Stories reading: “We as people have to stand together against any and all acts of hate. This is not a political statement.”

The Super Bowl pregame performer has not spoken publicly about Gaza, Israel or Palestine.

Usher’s Super Bowl guest star said “My heart has been breaking….I pray for and stand for peace” on October 16th. This was posted on Instagram shortly after she was accused of being insensitive for sharing a post saying she’d “had [my] eyes on paragliding”. 

Jay Z, who attended the Super Bowl with Beyonce and their daughters Blue Ivy and Rumi Carter, has not spoken publicly about Gaza, Israel or Palestine.

Luda, who performed “Yeah!” at the Super Bowl with Usher, has not spoken publicly about Gaza, Israel or Palestine.

Lil Jon, who also joined Ludacris and Usher onstage, has not spoken publicly about Gaza, Israel or Palestine.

The “Journey” singer-songwriter, who performed a guitar solo during Usher’s show, has not spoken publicly about Gaza, Israel or Palestine.

Will.i.am

The Black Eyed Peas frontman, who performed “OMG” with Usher, recorded a video expressing support for Palestine that was posted on November 30th by Muslim YouTube platform Islam Channel. “Everybody in Palestine, praying for y’all,” he said. “Stay positive, optimistic… Share love, share light, so people can be liberated.” It is unclear when the video message was recorded. 

Rudd signed the #NoHostageLeftBehind open letter on October 23rd, thanking US president Joe Biden for his leadership and support of both the Jewish and Palestinian communities, and calling for the return of all hostages. The letter reads: “We all want the same thing: Freedom for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace.”

Bieber posted on his Instagram Story: “To vilianize [sic] all Palestinians or all Israeli people to me seems wrong. I’m not interested in choosing sides, but I am interested in standing with the families who have been brutally taken from us.” He then shared the words “Praying for Israel” overlaid on a photo of bombed-out buildings – which he later deleted after people pointed out that the picture used depicted the Gaza Strip. 

West, who spent $7m on a Yeezy.com commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, has not spoken publicly about Gaza, Israel or Palestine since the conflict began. He previously apologised to the Jewish community for antisemitic remarks made in 2022.

On October 13th, the model said she had donated to Palestine Children Relief Fund, Save the Children and Barzilai Medical Center Children’s Hospital in Ashkelon, Israel, which had been hit by Hamas rockets. “This past week my heart has hurt so deeply,” she posted on Instagram Stories alongside fundraising links for the three organisations. “The horrific attacks on innocent lives are unbearable. As is always the case, innocent children suffer greatly in conflict and war, and right now there is a desperate need for support.”

The Kardashian star posted a lengthy statement on her Instagram on October 11th, stating: “Brutal terrorism has taken innocent lives and now both Israeli and Palestinian civilians are suffering and paying the greatest price there is… Our hearts should always have room and compassion towards innocent victims caught in the crosshairs of warring over power, politics, religion, race, and ethnicity.” 

Khloe Kardashian

The Kardashian sister shared an Instagram post from Jordan C. Brown, a political analyst who is married to Colton Underwood. “It is absolutely reasonable and logical to be opposed to the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians while simultaneously calling for the protection of Jews in Israel and around the world,” Brown’s post reads.

The Mad Men actor also signed the #NoHostageLeftBehind open letter on October 23rd.

After the October 7th Hamas attack, the model shared a post from pro-Israel account @StandWithUs stating: “Now and always we stand with the people of Israel!” She deleted it about an hour later and has not spoken since.

The “Munch (Feeling U)” rapper, who arrived at the Super Bowl with Taylor Swift, has not spoken publicly about Gaza, Israel or Palestine.

The Ocean Blvd singer signed the #NoHostageLeftBehind open letter. She also posted a comment on her Instagram: “also to be clear I LOVE PALESTINE I’m not a zionist stop [sic]”. In 2018, Del Rey postponed her performance at the Israeli music festival Meteor after receiving criticism from pro-Palestine groups, including the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).

This piece was updated to include Usher, Paul Rudd, Jon Hamm and Lana Del Rey’s past statements.