Speaking at the Oscars last night (Sunday March 15), Javier Bardem condemned Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu for creating “another illegal war” and declared “free Palestine” while presenting.
- READ MORE: Oscars 2026 winners – see the full list
While presenting the trophy for Best International Film, Bardem’s declaration of “no to war and free Palestine” from the podium drew a huge round of applause at the awards show, where he was seen sporting a “no a la Guerra” (meaning “no to war”) patch on his lapel.
As noted by Vanity Fair, the last time the No Country For Old Men actor had worn that patch to an awards show was back in 2003, when the US had just begun its invasion of Iraq.
Last night, Bardem sported the patch again to protest the war with Iran, telling reporters on the red carpet: “I’m wearing a pin that I used in 2003 with the Iraq war, which was an illegal war. And we are here, 23 years after [that], with another illegal war, created by Trump and Netanyahu with another lie.”
His political message follows international backlash surrounding American military strikes against Iran, after Israel and the US launched joint airstrikes across Iran late last month, killing the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and targeting hundreds of other military and leadership sites.
Javier Bardem says “no to war and free Palestine” at the #Oscars, earning a huge round of applause from everyone in the room.
(via ABC/AMPAS) pic.twitter.com/7p3whJzhbm
— Variety (@Variety) March 16, 2026
Javier Bardem on his "Free Palestine" remark at the #Oscars: "It's important to understand that you can be part of the movie-making community and also be a citizen who uses this huge speaker to denounce injustice." pic.twitter.com/TxgtuwomBx
— Variety (@Variety) March 16, 2026
Trump labelled the campaign ‘Operation Epic Fury’, and said it would end a security threat to the US, although Israeli Defence Forces used the term “pre-emptive” to justify its attack, meaning that this is not a response to an imminent threat, but rather, as highlighted by the BBC, a “war of choice.”
Speaking to Variety about the importance for advocating for Palestine, Bardem said: “It’s important to understand that you can be part of the movie-making community and also be a citizen who uses this huge speaker to denounce injustice.”
Bardem’s statement at the Oscars comes shortly after he joined over 100 entertainment world figures in signing an open letter criticising the Berlin Film Festival for their “silence” on the ongoing destruction and violence in Gaza.
“We write as film workers, all of us past and current Berlinale participants, who expect the institutions in our industry to refuse complicity in the terrible violence that continues to be waged against Palestinians,” the letter read.
“We are dismayed at the Berlinale’s involvement in censoring artists who oppose Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the German state’s key role in enabling it. As the Palestine Film Institute has stated, the festival has been ‘policing filmmakers alongside a continued commitment to collaborate with Federal Police on their investigations.’”
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