95th Oscars ring of steel amid of fear pro-Palestine protest

A ring of steel has been thrown around the venue for the 96th Oscars which take place on Sunday amid fears pro-Palestine demonstrators will try to ruin Hollywood’s biggest night.

The area around the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles has been blocked off with chainlink fencing as part of early preparations which will eventually involve thousands of law enforcement and security personnel.

Police and organizers will want to avoid a repeat of the Grammy Awards when arrivals at LA’s Crypto.com Arena were brought to a halt by pro-Palestinian supporters who blocked traffic.

The Dolby Theater in Hollywood is under tight security ahead of Sunday night’s show. Ruaridh Connellan for NY Post

The protestors gleefully shared footage online with the hashtag #ShutItDown4Palestine. At the event itself, Annie Lennox called for a ceasefire during her tribute to Sinéad O’Connor.

The Oscars security measures are being designed to prevent protesters attempting to interrupt the Sunday night show.

An interruption would give them a platform among as many as 20 million Americans watching live, millions more around the world and a much larger social media audience.

Anti-Israel demonstrators have increasingly targeted high-profile events.

On Saturday, First Lady Jill Biden was interrupted by protestors calling for a ceasefire, yelling, “It’s genocide”, while speaking on her “Women for Biden-Harris” tour in Tucson, Arizona.

The scene is set for the Oscars Sunday night; it takes over an hour to walk the red carpet. Ruaridh Connellan for NY Post
Preparations at the Dolby Theater on Monday in LA. Ruaridh Connellan for NY Post

And pro-Palestinian marches have brought chaos to NYC ever since the October 7 terror attacks in Israel — including on Saturday, when the NYPD bomb squad struggled to get to an Uber in Times Square whose driver had discovered a grenade on the back seat.

Nearly a dozen people were taken into custody after police were met with a swarm of protesters.

Workmen at the Dolby Theater prepare for Sunday night. Ruaridh Connellan for NY Post
“Succession” star J.Smith Cameron- seen at the Golden Globes in January- has been one of the few in Hollywood to wear a yellow ribbon on the red carpet, calling for the release of Israel hostages. Getty Images

An LAPD spokesperson told The Post Monday, “We will deploy enough officers to ensure the safety of all the citizens and Oscar attendees. We hope for the best and are prepared for the worst.”

Alongside many of the LAPD’s 9,000 officers will be federal agencies including the FBI.

Protestors held up the red carpet at the Grammy awards in LA last month. Party for Socialism and Liberation / X
Annie Lennox called for a ceasefire live at the Grammys during a tribute for Sinead O’Connor. Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

The Oscars carpet will be laid down amid great fanfare Wednesday ahead of the ABC show, once again hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, with security around the Dolby Theater in Hollywood set to be stepped up for that event too.

Sources at the Academy Awards said that the safety and security of attendees is paramount, adding that the organization would not tolerate any behavior that actively endangers, discriminates or causes bodily harm to attendees or members of its global film community.

Any interruption to the red carpet or the show risks highlighting how Hollywood has been at odds over the Israel-Hamas war — with conflicts that have spread within the top talent agencies in Tinseltown.

Jimmy Kimmel – seen in a promo with Barbie star with Kate McKinnon – is hosting the Oscars again. Jimmy Kimmel Live
Box office hit “Barbie” is up for Best Picture at the Oscars. Jimmy Kimmel Live

But sources told The Post that the Oscars organizers will not attempt to censor winners’ speeches.

Hollywood has remained largely silent on the conflict during awards season, aside from a few stars including J. Smith-Cameron of “Succession” and John Ortiz of “American Fiction” who sported a yellow ribbon to show support for Israel hostages at the Golden Globes in January.

Oscar nominees Bradley Cooper and Mark Ruffalo, alongside Selena Gomez, Joaquin Phoenix and Quinta Brunson were among more than 260 artists who signed an October letter urging Joe Biden and Congress to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“The Zone of Interest” director Jonathan Glazer and producer James Wilson at the BAFTAs last month. Wilson spoke out about the Israel-Hamas war. SplashNews.com
Pro-Palestine protests have rocked New York regularly since October 7, including in Manhattan on Saturday. As well as this masked demonstrator taken into custody outside New York Public Library, a group delayed the NYPD bomb squad. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post

However, James Wilson, the producer of Oscar-nominated movie, “The Zone of Interest”, the harrowing Polish historical drama set on the outskirts of Auschwitz, spoke out at the British BAFTA awards in London last month.

The film, which follows a commandant who lives in an idyllic home with his wife and five children next to the camp, took home three awards: best sound, best British film, and best film not in the English language. 

The streets surrounding the Dolby Theater will be closed off with heavy security on Sunday. Ruaridh Connellan for NY Post

Accepting the final prize, Wilson used the platform to call for an end to “selective empathy” in conflict, drawing parallels between his Holocaust film and the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.

“A friend wrote me, after seeing the film the other day, that he couldn’t stop thinking about the walls we construct in our lives which we chose not to look behind,” Wilson said.

“Those walls aren’t new from before or during or since the Holocaust, and it seems stark right now that we should care about innocent people being killed in Gaza or Yemen,” he continued, with the room breaking into applause, “in the same way think about innocent people killed in Mariupol or in Israel.”

The walkway for the Oscars red carpet is being built now and will be unveiled Wednesday. Ruaridh Connellan for NY Post

Of the 253 hostages seized when thousands of Hamas terrorists slaughtered around 1,200 people, it’s believed that 132 are still in captivity after a weeklong truce in late November saw the release of 105 people.

Swathes of the LAPD’s 9,000 officers are expected to be working in conjunction with federal agencies as the stars prepare for their biggest night of the year.

Gaza’s health ministry said at the end of last month that the number of Palestinians killed in the war has surpassed 30,000. 

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