With Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Apple Crisp Macchiatos, and even a Chestnut Praline Latte, Starbucks has got the nation's cozy coffee cravings in its hands--along with their paychecks. #StarbucksRedCup, #PSL, and #PumpkinCreamChaiTeaLatte are just a few of the top trending Starbucks autumnal hashtags--and #BoycottStarbucks. Wait, that doesn't sound like a new winter drink!
Uniting with Jewish Voice for Peace, on October 20, just 13 days after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Starbucks Workers United and Jewish Voice for Peace stood in solidarity with Palestine, calling on other labor unions for support. The union condemned "occupation, displacement, state violence, apartheid, and threats of genocide" of the Palestinians, as well as Starbucks itself, stating that it was using "this devastating humanitarian crisis to make false statements against our union and to vilify us." It wasn't long before Starbucks disagreed "with the statements and views expressed by Workers United," and clarified that the "Workers United's words and actions belong to them, and them alone." In response, supporters of Palestine encourage others to stop shopping there, some even going as far as to state that Starbucks's drinks were full of the blood of Gaza's children. Many noted the same about McDonald's, which announced free food for the Israeli military.
However, the boycott hasn't ended with food. The Palestinian-led BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement has pushed its supporters to stop buying Puma clothing, purchasing HP computers, and any products with barcodes that start with 729, which often indicates production from Israel.
Roger Waters, co-founder of the English rock and roll band Pink Floyd, is a long-time supporter of BDS. Since the beginning of Israel's response to Hamas' October 7 attack, Waters has posted about ending the "genocide" in Gaza and even included blood-red "STOP THE GENOCIDE" billboards during his recent concerts. He has recently garnered tremendous support from the pro-Palestinian community--as well as deep anger and controversy from many Jews. In March 2023, Waters arrived at a Berlin concert dressed in a Nazi-like SS uniform, complete with a red armband and crossed hammers on his collar, a symbol of the neo-Nazi group in the 1982 movie "Pink Floyd: The Wall." In 2013, Waters compared "the parallels" between Israeli treatment of Palestinians and "what went on in the 1930s in Germany" as "crushingly obvious." American Rabbi Shmuley Boteach later responded to Waters in the New York Observer, stating that his "audacity to compare Jews to monsters who murdered them shows [he has] no decency…no heart…no soul."
With huge waves of support and controversy rushing in at Waters from both sides, it's almost easy to forget to acknowledge how little Waters' statements affect the conflicts at hand. Waters cannot change the outcome of the Israel-Hamas war with a flashing post on Instagram--as an influencer, all he can really do is, well, influence. This means that with the click of a button, a strum of his guitar, or a controversial poster, Waters can demonize the entire Jewish community in a way that is beyond his control.
Waters is not a government official held accountable for his words--all that matters is his music. Waters can support whoever he likes and act whichever way he wants as long as he stays in tune. Besides, with Pink Floyd still standing, topping records from the 80s and 90s, he's got a long and good reputation behind him, keeping him steady on his feet--regardless of his currently blatant antisemitism.
However, Waters is among the few celebrities with a clear stance on the current war. Many celebrities, such as Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift, have received heavy backlash for not responding as soundly as fans would have wanted them to. Taylor Swift has used her prominent influence previously to encourage fans to vote--and ended up with a 23% jump in voter registration, with votes among 18-year-olds nearly doubling since the year before.
Swift knows her voice is powerful beyond her music--back in 2018, she advocated for the Democratic candidate in the Tennessee congressional race. So, why doesn't she speak now?
Swift has an estimated 272 million fans dedicated to her music, almost 107 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and is currently #1 in the world, with millions of listeners across the globe. If Swift asks, her fans will do--right away and perfectly, too. However, the Israel-Hamas war is a topic with layers and layers of complex history that deserves at least a little skimming on the New York Times.
By having Swift simply belt out a stance, uninformed listeners will quickly do their best to spread her message loud and clear--and with 272 million Swifties, everyone will be in the know--in the know of Swift's opinion, that is, and not of the actual conflict. It's easy to talk about a war in terms of numbers, especially if it's many miles away and has nothing to do with one's little corner of the world. However, for those for whom the war may mean a tremendous lot, hearing their favorite artist voice an opinion can be both a blessing and a curse. Swift could lose many listeners over a single post, be it firmly leaning towards one side over the other. Furthermore, a post like that of Gomez, which simply stated her concern for those involved, was critiqued by hundreds of fans, leading to the beginning of a new movement to boycott Gomez's own cosmetics company, Rare Beauty.
With nearly 100 years of strenuous land disputes, this conflict is truly a niche. It cannot be "Americanized" into a simple political or religious debate over land--for the hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. The conflict is just too "real" in a way that many Americans sitting on their comfy couches and scrolling on their phones cannot comprehend.
Swift won't address this conflict, and perhaps she is absolutely right in doing so--it's definitely way beyond the scope of a Tennessee congressional race. However, the danger of celebrities' posts goes beyond "Americanization." A Palestinian celebrity like Bella Hadid clearly understands the magnitude of the conflict--but that doesn't automatically mean her fans do, too. As Hadid is a model and not a professional news reporter from the Middle East, perhaps she--and other celebrities and influencers--aren't the best people to be educating fans on such a gruesome conflict--especially if they sometimes don't really mean what they post--like when Kylie Jenner post-backlash deleted her pro-Israel Instagram story--but that's a juicy story for another time!
