Actress Jennifer Lawrence used a press conference at the San Sebastian Film Festival on Friday to accuse Israel of “genocide” in Gaza, while failing to acknowledge the brutal Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023, or the dozens of hostages still held in captivity.
Speaking to reporters, Lawrence declared, “What’s happening is no less than a genocide and it’s unacceptable,” according to Variety. She added that she was “terrified for my children, for all of our children,” and claimed that political discourse in the U.S. has become devoid of integrity or empathy.
While calling the conflict “complex and disgraceful,” Lawrence made no mention of the nearly 5,000 rockets Hamas fired into Israeli neighborhoods on October 7, 2023, nor the massacre of 1,195 civilians across 21 communities in southern Israel. The dead included children, the elderly, and entire families. She also ignored the plight of the 48 hostages still held by Hamas, many of whom, according to reports, are enduring starvation, beatings, and sexual abuse.
Her framing of Israel as guilty of “genocide” also contradicted demographic facts. In 2000, the Palestinian population stood at around three million. Today it has nearly doubled to six million, undermining the claim that Israel is carrying out mass extermination.
Lawrence has a history of making controversial and inaccurate political claims. In 2024 she falsely asserted that President Donald Trump planned to “ban abortion,” despite him never advocating such a policy. In the same year, she baselessly claimed former Vice President Mike Pence was secretly gay. In 2022, she declared herself the “first woman action star in film history,” erasing decades of female-led action movies.
Her comments at the film festival reflect a broader trend of Hollywood celebrities weighing in on Middle East politics with one-sided narratives, often condemning Israel while excusing or ignoring Hamas terrorism. Critics argue that such remarks distort reality and embolden extremists while dismissing the suffering of Jewish victims and hostages.
