I will never let anyone silence me : Penélope Cruz shares her pain at seeing children suffer

More than 1,500 professionals, actors, directors, and technicians announced last September their intention to no longer collaborate with certain Israeli film institutions. At the origin of this initiative? The collective Film Workers for Palestine calling for a cultural boycott inspired by the one against South Africa during apartheid. In a letter published in The Guardian, the signatories denounced a situation they deemed untenable.

“In this time of crisis where many of our governments authorize carnage in Gaza, we must do everything in our power to respond to this complicity,” among other things. Among the personalities who have joined this movement are Charlotte Le Bon, Camélia Jordana, Éric Cantona, Olivia Colman, Tilda Swinton, Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Joshua Oppenheimer, Josh O’Connor, and Javier Bardem. A growing list supported by a strong desire to take a stand. In this context, Penélope Cruz has also chosen to speak out publicly.

Penélope Cruz calls on “each of us” to become aware of the situation

In an interview with El País, the actress expressed an intimate opinion on the responsibility of artists in the face of conflicts.

“I will never let anyone silence me when it comes to denouncing the destruction of civilians and children anywhere in the world, because to me, the life of a child has exactly the same value everywhere,” she emphasized. Touched by the images from war zones, she then emphasized the universality of suffering: “The images we receive of children and civilians in Gaza touch me exactly the same way as those of all the dead civilians in Israel on October 7.” “I see these children in Gaza suffering and dying like this, in such agony and horror, and I wonder: how can we see all this and say nothing, write nothing, do nothing? It concerns each and every one of us,” she concluded solemnly.

Javier Bardem, also long-time committed against war

An commitment shared within his own home as his husband, Javier Bardem, has also publicly expressed himself on several occasions for many years. For example? At the 2026 Oscars ceremony, he appeared with a badge that read “No to war”, reminding of an old commitment. “I wear a badge that I wore back in 2003, during the Iraq war, which was an illegal war. Today, twenty-three years later, we are faced with another illegal war, created by Trump and Netanyahu based on another lie,” he regretted. A part of the international film industry now seems determined to no longer remain silent in the face of conflicts around the world.