“Outlander” star Sam Heughan has walked back his involvement in a new statement calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war, posting online that he “inadvertently signed something that does not reflect his beliefs.”
“Our governments are not only tolerating war crimes but aiding and abetting them,” read the open letter, which included signatures from more than 2,000 celebrities. The letter was posted on the Artists for Palestine website on Tuesday. Some Hollywood notables who signed the message were Charles Dance, Tilda Swinton and Steve Coogan.
But on Thursday, Heughan shared that he intentionally provided his signature, saying “I believed it was a simple call for PEACE…it wasn’t.”
“I condemn violence in any form. I stand against terrorism and evil and am heartbroken and appalled by the recent horrific actions by Hamas. It’s haunting to the core, my heart goes out to all affected,” Heughan wrote in an X (formerly Twitter) post. “I don’t know nearly enough and [am] trying to educate myself on the conflicts in the Middle East. I feel helpless and wish I could help in some way.”
He concluded: “I pray for compassion, for all the innocent people affected.”
The message from the signees was one of the latest Gaza-related statements to be shared by members of the entertainment industry. It condemned “every act of violence against civilians and every infringement of international law whoever perpetuates them.”
“Gaza is already a society of refugees and the children of refugees. Now, in their hundreds of thousands, bombarded from air, sea and land, Palestinians whose grandparents were forced out of their homes at the barrel of a gun are being told to flee — or face collective punishment on an unimaginable scale,” the letter continued. “Dispossessed of rights, described by Israel’s minister of defense as ‘human animals,’ they have become people to whom almost anything can be done.”
The letter concluded: “We support the global movement against the destruction of Gaza and the mass displacement of the Palestinian people. We demand that our governments end their military and political support for Israel’s actions. We call for an immediate cease-fire and the opening of Gaza’s crossings to allow humanitarian air to enter unhindered.”
But the letter was reportedly slammed by claims that it condemned Israel without highlighting the Hamas killings that incited the war, which is what seemingly prompted the actor to speak out.
The group statement came less than a week after Hollywood celebs, including Jerry Seinfeld, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Pine and others sent their own combined statement on Oct. 12 expressing their support for Israel. On Tuesday, about 300 to 400 protestors marched from the National Mall to the U.S. Capitol for a rally that began inside the Cannon Office Building on Capitol Hill to speak out against the war in Gaza. The event was orchestrated by Jewish Voice for Peace, and it began at around 2:30 p.m. ET.
The group, which describes itself as the “largest Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world,” came together to protest the Israel-Hamas war. Per ABC News, Capitol Police arrested more than 300 people during the demonstration.
