The Israel-Hamas conflict has sparked a division of opinion on social media. Many users supporting the cessation of the war in Gaza have shown activism on their platforms and are now raising a movement on TikTok and Instagram that consists of the mass blocking of celebrities.

TikTok users in support of the ceasefire in Gaza have expressed outrage at the lack of dissemination of information about the crisis in Gaza by celebrities and influencers. They argue that such people have a platform with greater reach than anyone else. The outrage escalated quickly at the Met Gala fashion event. And it seems like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is on the public’s crosshair again. As he too has made it to a dreaded list.

The Brahma Bull to get blocked out?

The hashtags #Blockout and #BlockParty2024 became a trend with the purpose of canceling all the celebrities who have remained silent regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. The main reason for this blockout movement is to boycott the income that these celebrities can generate thanks to social media, which increases as more users interact with the content they produce. Celebrities who won’t speak out against the war can be blocked out by their fans. Thus leading to a loss of revenue for the said celebrity. And in a recent tweet, the list of the celebrities to be blocked out was released. And WWE superstar and TKO board member Dwayne Johnson made it to the list at number 38. Thus resulting in a loss of followers, but we are yet to find out a figure. The list also included other names such as Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish.

And the root cause of this all is what transpired at the Met Gala. During the annual Met Gala in New York City, influencer Haley Kalil, better known as Haylee Baylee was hired by E! News to be a pre-Met Gala presenter at one of the hotels where celebrities are transported to the fashion event. Kalil, who wore an outfit inspired by Marie Antoinette, the queen of France during pre-revolutionary times. She later uploaded a video to her TikTok account that would create the outburst.

In the video, the influencer poses in her outfit while an audio with the words “let them eat cake” plays in the background. Whose origin is from the 2006 film Marie Antoinette. According to historical records, the famous phrase belongs to the queen, who lived surrounded by luxury while the French people suffered hunger and were sent to the guillotine during the French Revolution. The phrase “let them eat cake” reflects a sarcastic and mocking message from the queen when asked for an answer about the poor conditions in which her people found themselves. Days after the publication, Kalil apologized for what happened. She further clarified that the video was not published with the intentions of which she was accused of. Nevertheless, what do you make of the fact that Dwayne Johnson finds himself in the blacklist of the public once again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.