Canadian Screen Awards: Amrit Kaur calls for ceasefire in Gaza and opens up about being 'scared' to speak up
"I am an artist and I refuse to sacrifice and live in the hatred of humanity," the Canadian actress says
At the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards, Amrit Kaur received the award for Performance in a Leading Role (drama), for Fawzia Mirza's film The Queen of My Dreams. Accepting the award on Friday, handed to her by costar Hamza Haq, Kaur used her time to publicly call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
"Colonization pushed us to a place of division, genocide, and now two communities who once loved each other live in absolute vitriol," Kaur said to the crowd at the gala. "It's a scary time to be an artist. I am scared. I am scared to speak up. But this honour reminds me that I am an artist.
"To be an artist, it is my job to feel and to empathize. And for those of you who are telling us artists not to speak up in fear of losing jobs, in fear of losing careers, in fear of losing reputation, you are telling us not to be artists. I want to say to you people that I am an artist and I refuse to sacrifice and live in the hatred of humanity. Ceasefire now. Free Palestine."
Kaur's speech comes after a number of celebrities have lost jobs after publicly expressing their beliefs related to this role. Particularly notable was Melissa Barrera being fired from the Scream 7 cast last year. More recently, Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan revealed she was told her career would be impacted due to her public support of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"You do get told, 'You won't get work,' 'You won't do this.' But I also think, deep down, if you know that you're coming from a place of 'I don't want any innocent people to suffer,' then I'm not worried about people's reactions," Coughlan told Teen Vogue.
She also told the publication she's been made aware some agents, agencies and studios possibly won't work with her because of this particular advocacy, but she has still worn her Artists4Ceasefire pin throughout the global press tour for Bridgerton Season 3.
Speaking to journalists after receiving her Canadian Screen Award, Kaur said she wanted to win the award to make that speech.
"If I'm being silenced, then I am being told to not be an artist, to be a puppet," Kaur said.
"That's a real thing and it's really scary, especially as people of colour who have spent so long being marginalized and so long told that we can't operate in the spaces to speak up. We're scared of what we're losing, but it's about humanity. It's about human life. And that's period, the line has been crossed."
