Javier Bardem Speeds Past F1 to Condemn Gaza "Genocide" on The View

En español

Spanish actor Javier Bardem was on The View to promote his new film F1, a high-octane drama about Formula 1 racing co-starring Brad Pitt. However, instead of focusing on speed and stunts, the Oscar winner abruptly shifted the focus of the planned promo to the war in Gaza, one of the most divisive issues of the moment.

Bardem, didn't hold back. With the morning show's hosts wearing pins supporting Israeli hostages held by Hamas, Bardem took the opportunity to share his own perspective on the conflict.

"What is happening in Gaza is genocide," he said bluntly, before also calling for the release of the Israeli hostages. His words were forceful and deliberate—an emotional deviation from the scripted world of movie promotion that caught both the audience and the hosts by surprise.

In recent months, student protesters and academics across the U.S. have faced intense consequences for voicing similar sentiments. Yet Bardem has remained vocal, even in the face of professional fallout and public criticism. His brief but impassioned monologue on national TV served as both a political statement and a reminder that, for some artists, speaking truth matters more than sticking to the script.

"I see your your pins and, of course, they have to return those hostages obviously. But the situation in Gaza is come to a term now where I cannot, I cannot express the pain that I, along with many millions of people there, suffered on a daily basis, watching those horrible images of children being murdered and starving to death, being absolutely blocked, the aid of medicines, water, medical material, food, kids that have been amputated without anesthesia, people that yesterday they were shot, 25 people were shot while they were looking for humanitarian aid in what they call the Hunger Games.

I mean, experts on international law, experts on international Amnesty International, international human rights, and some people that know what they're talking on. Holocaust survivors are calling a genocide for it. And if you ask me, I believe it's a genocide. Why is that?

First of all, because the impunity that is taking Israel in doing these actions and the lack of of action on any government, of course, the backup of, of United States with all these weapons and the economics and also the silence of Europe, is creating a scenario where there is such impunity that if we really don't do something about that, we are going towards, well, what is happening now, an absolute impunity on creating wars all over and creating so much pain that it's going to affect so many people? Yeah.

But also and this I will finish. The most important thing is to not lose the humanity and really denounce when we have to denounce and who we have to denounce.

Other artists, such as Mexican artist Melissa Barrera, have been condemned in Hollywood for expressing their dismay at the Israeli government's actions in Gaza. Dozens of international students in the United States have lost their visas for participating in demonstrations and other protests related to the same issue.

Bardem's words have been described as "brave" and "surprising" on social media.