'Occupying military gang': Hollywood stars speak out against ICE brutality
Celebrities call for accountability as scrutiny grows over ICE agents' use of force.
Hollywood actors and musicians, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Katy Perry and Natalie Portman, have condemned US immigration enforcement authorities following two deadly shootings in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as criticism mounts over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The backlash follows the deaths of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a mother of three, and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, who were fatally shot in separate incidents involving federal agents in Minneapolis this month.
Good was killed on January 7 while near a protest site, according to local reports. Less than three weeks later, Pretti was shot while filming actions by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The US Department of Homeland Security has said both individuals posed a threat to agents, a claim that has been disputed by politicians and civil rights groups, citing video footage from the scene.
Actor Pedro Pascal shared multiple posts on Instagram, criticising ICE and questioning official accounts of the shootings.
‘Murder in the streets’
Singer Billie Eilish addressed the incidents on social media, criticising what she described as silence from public figures, and calling Pretti “a real American hero”.
Pop star Katy Perry urged her followers to contact US senators to oppose additional funding for ICE, sharing call scripts and contact information via Instagram stories.
Actor Jamie Lee Curtis posted artwork paying tribute to both victims, while Mark Ruffalo described Pretti’s death as a “cold-blooded murder in the streets of the USA by an occupying military gang”.
Singer Olivia Rodrigo said on Instagram that she stands with Minnesota, calling ICE’s actions “unconscionable” and urging public engagement.
At the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, actors including Olivia Wilde and Natalie Portman also spoke out, calling for accountability in the shooting of Pretti.
“We’re at a moment in our country's history that is quite devastating,” Portman told US entertainment magazine Variety. “I think it’s really impossible not to talk about what is happening right now and the brutality of ICE and how it has to stop immediately.”