Olivia Rodrigo showed her support for Palestinian children this weekend, encouraging her followers to donate alongside her amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.
“There are no words to describe the heartbreak I feel witnessing the devastation that is being inflicted upon innocent people in Palestine,” Rodrigo wrote Saturday on her Instagram story. “Mothers, fathers, and children in Gaza are starving, dehydrated, and being denied access to basic medical care and humanitarian aid.
“There is no child in Israel, Palestine, or anywhere in the world who deserves to suffer through what we’re seeing these children have to endure,” she wrote. “It is horrific and completely unacceptable. To give up on them is to give up on our shared humanity.”
She said she donated to UNICEF, a child’s humanitarian organization, and encouraged others to do the same.
Rodrigo’s message comes as Israeli attacks continue in Gaza. On Sunday, Israeli strikes killed at least 30 people, including six children at a water collection site, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed in the war to about 58,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The United Nations and Amnesty International have called Israel’s war against Palestine a genocide.
Throughout her career, Rodrigo has been outspoken for many causes, but most notably, women’s reproductive rights. After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Rodrigo performed “Fuck You” with Lily Allen, dedicating the performance to the Supreme Court justices who voted for the overturn.
“I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that at the end of the day, they truly don’t give a shit about freedom,” Rodrigo said to the Glastonbury crowd.
“The song goes out to the justices: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you.”
In 2023, she founded a nonprofit, Fund 4 Good, which is dedicated to women’s issues.
“Its initiative is to raise awareness for certain groups that are championing women’s issues in America and all of the other territories I’m going to,” Rodrigo told People in 2023. “I’m very excited, and I think it’s going to be a very fulfilling and hopefully productive experience. Lots of the money is going to abortion funds to help provide some resources to people who are in need of reproductive health care.”