All posts tagged: boycotting

The 5 countries boycotting Eurovision 2026 — and the ones still participating

The 5 countries boycotting Eurovision 2026 — and the ones still participating

Eurovision is facing backlash, and boycotts, for a third year in a row. The 2026 contest of the annual European song contest is going into its first round of semifinals tonight with its lowest participant count since 2003, with a handful of countries opting out of airing the competition or sending their own participants because of Israel’s participation. Though the country’s participation in the contest has raised controversy for decades, backlash has been heightened since 2023, when their war on Gaza, which is still raging today, began. After it was permitted to compete this year again, multiple countries announced they would boycott, and 2024 winner Nemo (from Switzerland) as well as 1994 winner Charlie McGettigan (from Ireland) returned their trophies in protest of the decision. Moreover, sparking additional controversy, the week of the semifinals, the New York Times released an investigation alleging that Israel, via a well-organized campaign by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, engaged in a broad effort to attain votes in favor of the country, unfairly influencing the results through a mass voting …

Celebrities boycotting the Met Gala amid Jeff and Lauren Bezos takeover

Celebrities boycotting the Met Gala amid Jeff and Lauren Bezos takeover

It is the night where fashion, fame and fantasy collide beneath the glittering ceilings of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, but this year, the Met Gala is facing an unexpected storm. Several of Hollywood’s most recognisable names are reportedly choosing to stay away from the iconic event, amid mounting criticism over its high-profile sponsorship by Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos. The couple, who tied the knot in a lavish Venice ceremony earlier this year, are said to have contributed an eight-figure sum to co-host and sponsor the gala, securing positions as honorary co-chairs.  © Getty Images for The Met Museum/Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez attend The 2024 Met Gala While their involvement has been welcomed by organisers, it has also sparked unease among some in the industry, with critics accusing them of effectively “buying” their place at fashion’s most exclusive table. Among the most notable absentees is Meryl Streep, whose decision not to attend has raised eyebrows across both Hollywood and the fashion world. Her absence feels particularly pointed given the timing, …

Why I’m boycotting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Why I’m boycotting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Donald Trump is the greatest human to ever populate the planet — at least as he tells it. And he has a great plan, whatever it is at any given moment to satisfy wherever his latest whim has taken him.  This weekend it will take him to the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner for the first time as president, where he’ll be sure to remind the audience of increasingly friendly and compliant reporters — softened by buyouts and diluted by right-wing propagandists posing as independent reporters — of his greatness. Trump has refused every invitation from the White House Correspondents Association since his first administration. He has mostly avoided the event since then-President Barack Obama skewered him at the 2011 dinner for promoting the infamous “birther” conspiracy. (The last time Trump attended was in 2015 as he was preparing to run for president.) When Trump refused his invitation in 2017, Comedy Central’s Hasan Minhaj, serving as host, channeled his inner Don Rickles as he roasted the newly-elected president. “Even the president is not beyond the reach …

Aya Cash on ‘Giant,’ boycotting, and the silliest part of being on ‘The Boys’

Aya Cash on ‘Giant,’ boycotting, and the silliest part of being on ‘The Boys’

They say don’t meet your heroes, and the new-to-Broadway stage play starring Aya Cash (You’re the Worst, The Boys) shows why. Written by Mark Rosenblatt, Giant stars John Lithgow as Roald Dahl. The British children’s book author is best known for such beloved stories as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda. This play, however, addresses how the reception of that work shifts as Dahl expresses antisemitism in other published works and interviews in 1983. When his caustic comments cause public outcry, it’s up to an American publisher named Jessie Stone (Cash) to manage this bullying “giant” so the scandal won’t hurt the sales of his next book, The Witches. As big an admirer as Jessie is of his work, she is shocked by Dahl’s viciousness and politics. And Cash proves a compelling, resilient scene partner to a rampaging Lithgow. Cash came by the Say More studio to talk about Giant, which made the leap from the West End to Broadway this spring. The play deals not only with the …

Texas Law Barring State Investment in Firms Boycotting Fossil Fuels Declared Unconstitutional

Texas Law Barring State Investment in Firms Boycotting Fossil Fuels Declared Unconstitutional

A federal district judge on Wednesday declared a 2021 law restricting state investments in companies boycotting the fossil fuel industry unconstitutional, calling it “facially overbroad” and citing First and Fourteenth Amendment concerns. Legislators passed Senate Bill 13 as a way of discouraging divestment from oil and gas companies, as financial figureheads at the time had signaled they intended to make climate change initiatives a larger factor in their investment considerations. The law requires the comptroller’s office to maintain a list of financial firms that refuse, terminate or penalize business with a fossil fuel company “without ordinary business purpose.” SB 13 is commonly referred to as an “anti-ESG” law, which stands for “environmental, social and governance.” U.S. District Judge Alan Albright delivered the summary judgment, and affirmed in the 12-page order that the way SB 13 determined what constituted boycotting a company was too broad and undermined free speech protections of firms affected. “SB 13’s ‘boycotting’ definition is comprised of three clauses, all of which are undefined and not susceptible to objective measurement or determination,” Albright …

Balochistan to Bangladesh: Why Pakistan is boycotting India World Cup match | India-Pakistan Tensions News

Balochistan to Bangladesh: Why Pakistan is boycotting India World Cup match | India-Pakistan Tensions News

Pakistan’s government has announced the country will boycott its match against India in the Twenty20 World Cup, even while competing in the rest of the cricket tournament. Pakistan has not explicitly stated a reason for pulling out of the game with India, which was scheduled to take place on February 15. Recommended Stories list of 2 itemsend of list However, Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan’s interior minister and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has blamed India for attacks in Balochistan on Saturday in which at least 31 civilians, 17 security personnel and 145 fighters were killed, according to authorities. Pakistan’s decision on Sunday to boycott the game against India also comes amid tensions between the neighbours over a series of events that led to Bangladesh being barred from the World Cup. What happened in Balochistan? Early on Saturday, armed men launched coordinated attacks on police stations in the provincial capital of Quetta and other parts of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, according to officials. These were the deadliest attacks in Balochistan in decades with nearly 200 people, …

Apps for boycotting American products surge to the top of the Danish App Store

Apps for boycotting American products surge to the top of the Danish App Store

European consumers are fighting back against the U.S. following Trump’s threats to take control of Greenland, a Danish territory. As a result, two mobile apps that offer a way to determine if products are made in America, then suggest local alternatives, have surged to the top of the Danish App Store in recent days. The Danish App Store serves users in both Greenland and Denmark, and the same is true for Google Play. The boost in downloads comes as Danish consumers have been organizing a grassroots boycott of American-made products, which also included canceling their U.S. vacations and ditching their subscriptions to U.S.-based streaming services, like Netflix. Across both iOS and Android, two apps, NonUSA and Made O’Meter, have entered the top 10 this month, according to new data from market intelligence provider Appfigures. NonUSA became the No. 1 app on Wednesday, after earlier jumping from No. 6 on Tuesday, up from No. 441 on January 9. This app is specifically designed to allow users to boycott American products in their everyday lives. To use …