The horrific Israel-Hamas war has captured headlines since Oct. 7, deeply affecting Americans, both of Jewish and Palestinian descent.
Many activists are urging celebrities to condemn the bombings, shootings, and airstrikes. While some have expressed their views on the conflict, mostly zeroing on its root cause, Palestinian liberation, others have chosen to remain silent. DJ Khaled falls into the quiet bunch as fans have called him out for not discussing the pressing matter during a recent interview with Rolling Stone.
A prominent figure in popular culture known for using social media to promote various causes, music, and products and spreading positivity has not publicly addressed the issue. After a month of silence, many, like social commentator Jouelzy, ask, “Why?”
Jouelzy took to her X platform and tweeted, “I have been waiting! DJ Khaled has TWO displaced Palestinian parents, and not only has he said nothing about the conflict. He’s been very active on IG promoting his clothing brand.”
Someone in her comments posted a photo from the Paris Palestine Solidarity march, blasting DJ Khaled for keeping so quiet on the issue. A person in the crowd is carrying a sign that read: “DJ KHALED IS A B—CH.”
I have been waiting! DJ Khaled has TWO displaced Palestinian parents, and not only has he said nothing about the conflict. He's been very active on IG promoting his clothing brand… https://t.co/PbClpV6LRt pic.twitter.com/iQWm6sai7K
— Jouelzy (@Jouelzy) November 4, 2023
The comments section lit up with people blasting the Palestinian-American for prioritizing interviews and the promotion of his new clothing line over making a statement on the conflict. This criticism is intensified as statistics show that 9,061 Palestinians have been killed since the Hamas attacks, with two-thirds of the casualties being women and children.
“@djkhaled is “winning” while his own people are being slaughtered and displaced. He has yet to say a single word. Does he talk about Palestine in this interview?” one person tweeted. “This is so tone deaf @djkhaled.”
Another posted, “Notorious for not going down and not speaking out.” A third person blasted Rolling Stone writing, “This is terrible timing on y’all he is Palestinian guy living in a false reality ñ. If that interview doesn’t mention anything on war you should pull it off shelves. Shame on y’all.”
This is terrible timing on y’all he is Palestinian guy living in a false reality ñ. If that interview doesn’t mention anything on war you should pull it off shelves. Shame on y’all
— credo__chi (@Cosmic__Sound) November 7, 2023
Brother Billy, a Palestinian influencer on TikTok, also took aim at DJ Khaled.
In a video captioned: “DJ Khaled the man who can’t stand up for his family,” Billy said, “You are the most influential Palestinian, apparently, in the world. Allah has gifted you with all this money, albeit obtained in a haram way through haram actions, but you have a chance, my Palestinian brother, to redeem yourself by 0.1%. But what have you done? Nada.”
Brother Billy then suggested that DJ Khaled chooses to remain silent because he does not want to lose his sponsorships and contracts in America.
He ends the video by saying, “To me, and to many other people around the world, whether they’re Muslim or not, your silence doesn’t say you don’t support Palestine. It says you support Israel.”
A few people asked, what would change for the world and the public if the entertainer did post?
“He’s gonna stop the war with an IG post?” one comment sarcastically said, while another person tweeted, “I mean, it’s not by force to say anything. Cause regardless of what he’s going to say. Y’all will still be the ones to bash him and take sh-t out of context. So let people b.”
A pedestrian glance at DJ Khaled’s social media shows him posting about his growing family and the many artists he is working with, including Drake. On a post pinned to the top, it says, “I HAVE 2 DRAKE SONGS ON MY NEW ALBUM COMING 2024.”
In a deeper dive, he has another post, put up nine days after the war started, with a caption that says, “Dialed in LOVE IS THE ONLY WAY.”
Perhaps this is his statement: a collaborative project symbolically uniting Jewish and Palestinian stars to inspire peace, mirroring the civil rights movement with Black and white artists.
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