The Blockout 2024 trend, which is spreading like wildfire across social media, is where social media users block celebrities to hinder their online engagement, as a way of punishing them for their silence over Israel’s bombardment of Palestine.
Social media users are criticizing celebrities who have millions of followers for not using their platforms to advocate for Palestinians. This was triggered by the recent fashion event, the Met Gala.
The event was labeled “tone-death,” by pro-Palestinian supporters as the ultra-wealthy spent 75,000 dollars, per person, to attend the superficial event. Meanwhile in Gaza, the death toll is rising by the second and millions are struggling to survive surrounded by mass graves of their loved ones, broken homes, and little or no access to basic amenities.
The cost of one Met Gala ticket is enough to evacuate one family from Gaza to Egypt. Last year the Met Gala reportedly raised 22 million dollars, if the same total were achieved this year it would have been enough to evacuate over 293 families from Gaza.
The Met Gala was compared to dystopian novels “The Hunger Games,” as the rich distracted themselves with entertainment, taking away from the fact that Israel was simultaneously launching a ground offensive on Rafah, the last “safe” space in Palestine where over a million have been forcibly displaced.
The shamed fashion event was the catalyst for people to start blocking A-listers such as Kim Kardashian and her family members, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, and Drake.
Some celebrities have been left spooked by the Blockout and quickly took to their page to confess their unwavering support for Palestine, and made excuses for not publicly talking about the situation before.
American singer Lizzo was one of the celebrities to take to social media as the Blockout campaign spread. In a video to her 11.9 million Instagram followers, she appeared remorseful saying: “I have been in a deep dark depression, that meant I was not present, and could not process anything, and I am not saying this to make excuses.”
While some viewer’s comments called Lizzo out, claiming she was only “talking about this now to avoid being canceled.” Others congratulated her with a “better late than never” approach to the video.
In light of the Blockout movement, fellow American singer Ariana Grande promptly signed an agreement to call for an immediate ceasefire addressed to U.S. President Joe Biden.
Public figures line their wallets with money from brand deals and ads, which they are given because of their healthy social media reach. Therefore, damaging their following and blocking them can reduce their opportunity to make money.
It is hardly surprising that these so-called stars are pandering to their remaining followers to scrape back public support when many of these brand deals hit the multi-million mark. Last year, Selena Gomez’s brand deal with clothing brand Puma totaled an estimated 30 million dollars, and actor George Clooney received approximately 40 million for his partnership with Nespresso, wrote publication “The Richest.”
One thing that is clear is that the power of social media trends cannot be underestimated.
We can see from the numbers that people are taking operation Blockout seriously. Actress and singer Selena Gomez lost one million followers on Instagram, similarly, singer Billie Eilish lost over one million, Rhianna lost 110,000 followers on X and public figure Kylie Jenner lost 53,000 on the same platform, said TRT World.
Over 5.4 billion people have a social media account, according to Statista, making it an invincible tool that the majority of the population is plugged into.
We have seen time and time again the power social media holds in election polls, court cases, spreading news both real and fake, and cancel culture. Therefore, doubting Blockout 2024’s potential could only be classed as an ignorant miscalculation.