Renowned producer DJ Khaled became a trending topic on Saturday, November 4, for all the wrong reasons.
Numerous displeased users flocked to X, previously known as Twitter, to criticize DJ Khaled for not speaking out about Israel’s conflict with Hamas, including the rising death toll among Palestinians as the Israeli military continues its assault on the Gaza Strip.
The conflict, which began on October 7th, escalated when militants from Hamas initiated terror attacks in Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,400 men, women, and children and the abduction of hundreds more.
Since then, at least 9,000 Palestinians have been reported killed and over 32,000 injured in Israeli airstrikes and a ground assault in Northern Gaza.
Today, thousands of people condemned the war and called for a ceasefire during protests in Washington D.C., New York and London. During a rally in Paris, a woman was photographed holding a sign that read “DJ Khaled is a b****.” The image went viral on X, racking up over 2 million views and almost 5000 likes in a few hours.
“idkiyk but they eating you up in these comments,” another user wrote. Another angry person said “DJ Khaled always aggravated me but now I can’t hit skip fast enough #FreePalestine.”
Another said, “DJ Khaled know the Jews run the music industry n would blackball him if he supported his own people smh what a coward.”
Some users defended him, noting that he obviously had nothing to do with the war.
“Did DJ Khaled send those terrorists to go killing Isrealis in their homes, raping their daughters, kidnapping their kids and beheading their captives? You just want to blackmail a peace loving man into supporting terrorism,” one user snapped..
It seems improbable that any statement from DJ Khaled would appease the public, yet this did not prevent individuals from condemning the “We The Best” music mogul for his lack of comment.
This pattern of expectation and reaction isn’t unique to DJ Khaled, as evidenced by other celebrities who have spoken about the conflict. Rap icon Drake faced criticism for initially withholding his views on the war despite his Jewish heritage.
However, the Toronto-based rapper eventually joined a collective called Artists 4 Ceasefire in calling for a ceasefire.
Despite this collective appeal for peace, some still found reasons to fault Drake’s position. Selena Gomez was also recently targeted by fans for her silence on the matter.
Ultimately, Gomez broke her silence by posting a statement on Instagram. Her words were quickly criticized, with some accusing her of being self-centered, which led her to abandon social media following the severe backlash completely.