In the rise of the ongoing matter occurring in Gaza, netizens have started a movement to boycott local celebrities who are continuously promoting brands with ties to Israel. A few artists are worried over the potential repercussions that may affect their career. Yet, Malaysia born singer, Yuna Zarai, made a statement in regards to such concern.
On 17th May 2024, the internationally famed artist posted a video on her Instagram, sharing her personal experience on how she has stopped supporting the boycotted brands starting in late 2023. She stated, “I got friends telling me I was crazy. ‘it’s not gonna be good for you’. I talk about seeing horrific images and some of you guys even changed the topic mid-convo. some you posted lipsticks and what not the next day!!”.
The “Terukir Di Bintang” singer acknowledges that it is almost impossible to completely diverge everything right away. Simultaneously, she believes that there is always room for people to try but all they do is to have courage to grab that chance. However, Yuna highlighted how dozens of people across the globes have faced groundless consequences simply for supporting the said campaign.
On that note, she also expressed her personal horrific experience in Los Angeles after being caught wearing a watermelon necklace as the fruit represents the Palestine flag. “Some guy took a photo of me for wearing a tiny little watermelon necklace just to intimidate me. We ALL have to sacrifice something.” she added.
Yuna continued on how unfair it is for celebrities to not take the chance and cut ties while their fans are passionately boycotting the brands. She claimed that we do not have the luxury to continue giving our pennies to these brands, only for it to be funded for the genocide.
The post garnered over 200k views and her fans flooded the comments with sweet messages. Most netizens are in awe over her effort in using her platform to make such a statement. Some praised her upholding her values despite her huge career.
The 37-year-old ended her note with a sweet quote which read, “You are a soul thing – not a sold thing” as a means to remind how lives are far more precious than products produced by boycotted companies. She implored everyone to continue speaking up about Palestine as we are their sole hope for freedom.
Watch the full video below!
Source: Instagram
Ariani Soraya contributed to this article.
