Blockout 2024 (stylized as the hashtag #Blockout2024), variously referred to as Operation Blockout or Celebrity Block Party,[1] was an online movement to block the social media accounts of celebrities and organizations, related to their silence over or support toward Israel in the war in Gaza. A wave of discontent was sparked on social media platforms on May 6, 2024, following the Met Gala, an annual fundraising event. This reaction was prompted by the circulation of photographs featuring celebrities in elaborate attire. A number of these celebrities had not publicly addressed the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, where continuous airstrikes by Israel by then led to the loss of over 35,000 lives. This lack of public commentary on the issue was highlighted and criticized by social media users.[2] By early August, the movement ended.[3]
Prelude
The Blockout movement started through posts on TikTok after the Met Gala on May 6, 2024.[4] The exclusive $75,000 per ticket fashion event attended by influential celebrities drew comparisons to the class disparity of The Hunger Games,[5] with USA Today columnist Nicole Russell calling it "a tone-deaf charade of excess and hypocrisy."[6] A post by influencer Haley Kalil (known as @haleyybaylee on social media) became widely viewed showed her saying "Let them eat cake" in the style of Marie Antoinette.[7][1][8][9] After recent university campus war protests,[10] the ongoing Rafah offensive, and protesters outside of the Met Museum,[11][12][13] this contrast[14] became the subject of online posts and activism.[1][15] The release of the song "Hind's Hall" by Macklemore on the same day as the Met Gala was notable, with the lyrics referring to: "The music industry's quiet, complicit in their platform of silence."[16]
Shortly after the event, TikTok account @BlockOut2024 posted a video encouraging users to block celebrities at the Met Gala and others on social media,[17][18] but others have attributed the start of the effort to the account @ladyfromtheoutside.[19][20] This resulted in the hashtags #blockout2024 and #celebrityblocklist starting to trend, alongside #AllEyesOnRafah.[21][22] Because of the reference to Antoinette, the activism was also referred to as a "digitine" or digital guillotine.[23][24][25] However, dissenters claimed the attention on celebrities detracted from the war's on-ground coverage.[26]
Some of those originally targeted in the block posted videos encouraging donations to Gaza support and relief efforts, including Lizzo and Chris Olsen.[28]
The campaign also gave rise to country-specific lists, such as ones in Malaysia.[32]
