Friends... It might seem vacuous to document disappointment in celebrities or artists you admire or in some way consume. On the one hand, who cares what an actor or a singer thinks? How they see a conflict has no bearing on its outcome. Yet we do care. We care because they have the power to influence their acolytes, but more importantly, they give their fans permission to care.

In some cases, this matters little because, collectively, we’re instructed on what causes are acceptable to give our time and efforts to. We can stand beside people and post tiles on Instagram for most egregious crimes against humanity. But you just can’t do that with Palestine. We need actors like Mark Ruffalo to unapologetically advocate for the lives, safety and freedom of Palestinians. We want Cynthia Nixon to use her considerable success to read out the names of innocent Palestinians who have been slaughtered. And while I could give two shits about Hollywood film premieres about now, seeing an ebullient Blake Lively clutch the hand of famous model Gigi Hadid, who is half-Palestinian, at Deadpool & Wolverine means something. The vision of Cate Blanchett on the red carpet at Cannes, using it in concert with her gown of green, black and white to create an image of the Palestinian flag’s colours is a picture that lives rent-free in my mind. We care about the artists we consume and it means something to see that they care too, enough to firmly offer a stance no matter the criticism they will receive.

It has value because much of the public cares more about what people who are just like them think, rather than actual Palestinians. When we show up for our people, it’s a no-brainer. I think Blanchett got her solidarity right - it was a clear nod to her thoughts on the situation, which she has been vocal about, but not overwrought. Supporting Palestine and Palestinians is not a career path.

We know why Palestine is not a black-and-white cause. This is not what I’m here to write about. What I do want to say, and with complete sincerity, is that the artists of the world matter to us as consumers. How they see life, and people who are different to them, matters. Who they are tied to or answerable to matters. Because there is no separation from life. This IS life. And for the artists and writers amongst us, it matters even more because we will have to be informed in our professional choices. The list of people you once wanted to work with gets brutally slashed, but it doesn’t hurt. The truth is much better than a lie; who wants to pour their creative passion into a project with someone who will find a way to explain the absolute devastation being wrought upon Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank. No alliance is more valuable than being an authentic, moral and compassionate human being who can see beyond paint-by-number opinions.

I felt compelled to write about this because the other day I found myself trying to watch a television show. I'm behind on everything. But I wanted to give the latest season of The Boys a shot. It turns out that the actor playing Frenchie, Tomer Capone, is an Israeli man who has proudly served in the IDF. I could not watch him without thinking of Gaza, of the West Bank, of the people whose lives have been irrevocably - and somewhat casually - destroyed. I had no desire to. And I think this is the key point. I'm not talking about this in sacrificial terms. The reality is, we truly cannot comfortably consume art of any kind when we know the people behind it advocate for the deaths of innocent civilians.

If you want to keep up with who has said what and when I have found this website - Reverse Canary - to be an extraordinary resource.