Pulitzer-winning Palestinian author confronts Saint Levant and Huda Kattan: 'Do you really care about Gaza?'
The pair recently launched a new shade of Huda Beauty 's Faux Filler Lip Oil called Kalamantina – a reference to Palestinian clementine oranges – in tandem with the release of Saint Levant's latest single of the same name. A promotional photoshoot for the product featured both figures posing in front of a car overflowing with the fruit.
In a post on the brand's Instagram account, Huda Beauty described the release as 'for the homeland', stating that a donation would be made to organisations supporting 'Palestinian agriculture and cultural preservation'. The brand did not, however, specify the amount or whether it would reflect a percentage of the product's proceeds.
Saint Levant, a part-Palestinian singer and rapper, also posted about the collaboration saying, among other musings, that he was 'grateful' that the launch was 'supporting Palestinian agriculture at a time where settler violence and Zionist ethnic cleansing is rising'.
Abu Toha, whose New Yorker essay series chronicling his life during the war and eventual evacuation from Gaza earned him the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary, commented on the post on Monday, expressing frustration and grief over what he saw as the disconnect between the campaign's messaging and the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
'I truly do not understand how you are publishing this love song showing lots of clementines when my people of Gaza are killed while trying to get food,' Abu Toha wrote. 'Do you really care about Gaza? You share this video when 102 people were killed today, including a cousin of mine, while seeking food?'
The author and poet went on to say that supporting Gaza financially was secondary to the people of Gaza's 'feelings as human beings'.
His comments come as suffering in Gaza ' reaches new depths '. At least 59,029 Palestinians have been killed and 142,135 wounded since October 2023. According to a May report by Unicef, more than 50,000 children were either killed or injured in the enclave.
The criticism echoes remarks made in recent weeks by other cultural figures. At a performance in Abu Dhabi, American comedian Dave Chappelle called out Palestinian-American musician DJ Khaled for his silence, saying: 'People are starving.'
The Kalamantina campaign has received both praise and backlash online, with another comment that has received more than 500 likes calling the campaign 'tone deaf'.
Neither Saint Levant nor Huda Kattan have publicly responded to Abu Toha's comments, which are no longer visible beneath Saint Levant's post.
Both Kattan and Saint Levant have spoken out in support of Palestine in the past numerous times. Saint Levant called the Israel-Gaza war a " brutal genocide" on stage Coachella in 2024. Kattan has commented her social media platforms and by pledging $1 million to humanitarian organisations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Timeframe: When Anderson Silva got booed in Abu Dhabi at first UFC event in the Middle East
UFC returns to Abu Dhabi for Fight Night on Saturday - 15 years ago after the Mixed Martial Arts promotion came to the Middle East for the first time. UFC 112 was held as an outdoor event at Ferrari World on Yas Island, with middleweight champion Anderson Silva headlining as he defended his title against Demian Maia after the original opponent, Vitor Belfort, withdrew because of an injury. Yet it was the other fights that got much more traction. BJ Penn, the celebrated lightweight champion, took on No 1-ranked challenger Frankie Edgar. It was quite the coup for Abu Dhabi as Silva and Penn were two of the strongest pound-for-pound MMA fighters at the time. The event was staged at the 12,000-seat outdoor concert arena at Ferrari World. In a rarity for the sport back then, UFC 112 would feature not one, but two title fights. 'Abu Dhabi is our first outdoor event and we are very happy we could deliver what fans around the world will recognise as a stacked card featuring the sport's biggest stars,' UFC chief executive Dana White said at the time. Down the card, Renzo Gracie, a renowned Brazilian jiu-jitsu pioneer, made his UFC debut, going up against Matt Hughes, a former two-time welterweight champion. Excitement built throughout the week in the lead-up to fight night. Several activities along the Corniche climaxed with the official weigh-in at Marina Mall the day before the fighters took to the octagon. It drew a large turnout. As for the action itself, Mark Munoz's second-round victory against Kendall Grove – by technical knockout – won 'fight of the night' on the 10-bout card. DaMarques Johnson claimed 'knockout of the night' by dispatching Brad Blackburn brutally in the third. In the evening's fourth and final fight, Rafael dos Anjos earned 'submission of the night' as his armbar in the second round caused Terry Etim to submit. Each fighter took home $75,000 (Dh275,000) in bonuses. In the major bouts, Gracie succumbed to Hughes in the third, while Penn suffered a surprise loss to Edgar, relinquishing his lightweight belt on a unanimous decision. A tightly contested bout, it was Penn's first defeat in that division in eight years. Much to everyone's frustration, the headline act failed to live up to its billing. Undefeated in his previous 10 UFC outings, Silva ran out a unanimous winner on points, only the second time in 11 fights that he needed the judges' scorecards. However, Silva's performance left those in attendance frustrated. Seeking a UFC record of six title defences, he rarely engaged with Maia, taunting his opponent through the opening rounds. Soon, the Abu Dhabi crowd switched their support to the underdog. As Maia looked to take the fight to the ground, Silva's defence staved off his challenge, but did little to capture the fans' attention. At one point in the fifth, the referee ordered Silva to take the fight to Maia. Speaking afterwards in his native Portuguese, the victorious champion attempted to apologise above a crescendo of boos. 'I'm sorry,' Silva said. 'I wasn't as humble as I should have been. I will be better next time.' By that stage, White had already left. Disappointed with what he was witnessing, he departed the arena during the fourth round, foregoing his usual post-fight routine of presenting the champion their belt. In the press conference afterwards, White fumed: 'It was a disgrace. To end this night the way we did was embarrassing. I apologise to everyone who came to the fight.'
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
One poet's journey through wars in Sudan and Gaza
Ahmed Sarsour, a Sudanese-Palestinian poet, fled war in Sudan in 2023 and now finds himself trapped in Gaza, where he uses poetry and social media to share the harsh realities of life under siege
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Yallah: Arabic word for 'let's go' is a call to action and an encouragement
In Arabic, yallah is used to move things along. It is a call to action, an expression of urgency, encouragement or even impatience. It can be translated to 'let's go', but its meaning is shaped entirely by context. You might hear it when someone wants you to hurry up, when a group is ready to leave, or when a conversation has gone on too long. It can be warm, firm, supportive or exasperated. Yallah is a fusion of two words: ya, which is a vocative particle similar to 'oh' or 'hey' in English, and Allah, the Arabic word for God. It is a contraction of ya Allah, meaning oh God. Over time, it became secularised in daily speech. Its religious weight is not as overt any more, but the word retains the energy of its plea. If you are running late and you would like a friend to hurry up, you could say: yallah taakharna. If you're waiting for them downstairs and want to hurry up and make a move: yallah, ana taht. You could even use it to wrap up a conversation: yallah, binhki baadein – or yallah, we'll talk later. To encourage someone, you could say: yallah, feek taamilha – yallah, you can do it. You could even use it to cheer your favourite sports team, simply by shouting yallah, yallah. Yallah is one of those words that has outgrown its origins, perhaps due to its flexibility. This is most evident by its prevalence in pop culture and music. Nancy Ajram, Cheb Khaled and Ragheb Alama all have songs with yallah in their title, but non-Arab singers have also adopted the word. Romanian singer Inna has a 2015 dance hit named Yalla. Iranian-Swedish singer Arash also has a song with US rapper T-Pain called Yalla.
