{"id":7675,"date":"2026-01-27T11:43:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T11:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freshgigz.com\/realpublisher\/celebrities-wear-ice-out-pins-attend-political-panels\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T11:43:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T11:43:23","slug":"celebrities-wear-ice-out-pins-attend-political-panels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/freshgigz.com\/realpublisher\/celebrities-wear-ice-out-pins-attend-political-panels\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrities wear ‘ICE OUT’ pins, attend political panels"},"content":{"rendered":"


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PARK CITY, Utah \u2014 The news began to hit the Sundance Film Festival as people were stepping out of dark movie theaters onto snowy sidewalks or waking up after a long night of partying in the bars and lounges on Main Street. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you all have not heard what\u2019s going on in Minnesota this morning, someone else was murdered by ICE,\u201d director Ava DuVernay said, referring to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti<\/a> as she began to ask <\/strong>a question while seated in the audience at a panel on freedom of expression Saturday afternoon. <\/p>\n

About two hours later, Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., identified himself on X as the person who was \u201cpunched in the face<\/a>\u201d at a party hosted by the talent agency CAA on Friday by a man who allegedly told him President Donald Trump was going to deport him.<\/p>\n

The political temperature during the early days of the 2026 festival was wide-ranging. While some filmmakers and stars wore \u201cBe Good\u201d and \u201cICE OUT\u201d pins, many of the film premieres and brand-sponsored lounges remained largely apolitical zones.<\/p>\n

But by Saturday afternoon, as attendees hopped around Park City, many were also watching videos of the killing of Pretti, a Minnesota nurse, on their cellphones, and a sense of cognitive dissonance began to permeate the festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to be somewhere like this \u2026 wear nice outfits and talk about film, when something so ugly is happening right next to us,\u201d actor Jenna Ortega told reporters<\/a> ahead of the premiere of her new movie, \u201cThe Gallerist,\u201d on Saturday. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m sitting here talking about movies while an illegal army is being mounted against U.S. citizens,\u201d Edward Norton, who co-stars in \u201cThe Invite,\u201d told The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>. <\/p>\n

During Trump\u2019s first term, much of Hollywood was vocally critical of the president, but this time, the entertainment industry’s response has been more muted, with some \u2014 including Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence<\/a> \u2014 saying they felt their prior activism made little impact. <\/p>\n

There is a history of political activists taking advantage of the spotlight that Sundance can help them shine on an issue: During the 2024 festival, the group Arabs in Utah shut down Main Street to draw attention to the conflict in Gaza. In 2017, 8,000 people showed up to a women\u2019s march led by comedian Chelsea Handler and sponsored by groups including Planned Parenthood and EMILY\u2019S List to protest Trump’s first inauguration. <\/p>\n

This year, the streets were not as populated by protesters. A small crowd of people in Park City took to Main Street on Sunday \u2014 where many of the festival activations take place \u2014 holding anti-ICE signs. Later in the evening, roughly 100 people gathered on Main Street again for a 10-minute \u201cSundancers Melt Ice\u201d rally, this time turning on the lights in their phones as part of another solidarity rally against ICE. “Lord of the Rings” star Elijah Wood was among the attendees, according to Deadline<\/a>. (NBC News has reached out to Wood’s representative for comment).<\/p>\n

The conversations around politics were largely unfolding at panels, such as the American Civil Liberties Union event attended by DuVernay, and as the stars were promoting their films on red carpets ahead of their premieres.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI wanted to take a moment to acknowledge everything that is happening in Minnesota,\u201d filmmaker Kogonada told the audience at the screening of his film, \u201cZi.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m a believer in what [Roger] Ebert says that cinema is an empathizing machine. In the darkest time, you hope that art doesn\u2019t feel indulgent but that it deepens our sense of humanity. I feel like more than ever it is important to do that to counter what is happening around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, actor Kerry Washington spoke at a panel titled \u201cDemocracy On the Screen \u2014 And On The Line,\u201d hosted by Elevate Studios and the Impact Lounge. That same day, the think tank African American Policy Forum hosted a panel titled \u201cThe Story of Us \u2014 The New McCarthyism: Why Authoritarians Fear Storytellers,\u201d which included perspectives from DuVernay, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen and Tony-winning actor Kara Young.<\/p>\n

\u201cICE OUT\u201d pins were spotted across Park City over the weekend, worn by stars such as Natalie Portman, Olivia Wilde and Zoey Deutch. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really impossible not to talk about what is happening right now and the brutality of ICE and how it has to stop immediately,\u201d Portman, Ortega\u2019s co-star in \u201cThe Gallerist,\u201d told Variety<\/a> on Saturday. \u201cBut also, there\u2019s a beautiful community that Americans are showing right now. They\u2019re showing up for each other, protecting each other and fighting for their freedom. It\u2019s a bittersweet moment to celebrate something we\u2019re so proud of on the backdrop of our nation in pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilde, whose \u201cThe Invite\u201d film premiered to a standing ovation Saturday, said that while she and others were at the festival, people should also be paying attention to what\u2019s happening in the United States. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t go another day just sort of accepting this as our new norm,\u201d she told Variety<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s outrageous. People are being murdered. And, I don\u2019t want to normalize seeing people being murdered on the internet. … It\u2019s hideous. And so if we can do anything out here to support the movement to cast ICE out, to delegitimize this unbelievably criminal organization, then that\u2019s what we should be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n