Grammys 2024: Did Annie Lennox call for a 'Gaza' ceasefire?

Music icon Annie Lennox paid tribute to late singer Sinead O'Connor at this Grammys on Sunday night with an implied call for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

During an emotionally stirring performance at the prestigious award ceremony's 'In Memoriam' segment, Lennox honoured the Irish artist by singing a cover of the 1990 smash hit Nothing Compares 2 You.  

The Eurythmics lead singer followed the rendition with a call for an end to war as raised her fist aloft, viewed as a reference to Gaza.

"Artists for a ceasefire - peace in the world," Lennox said. 

Lennox's performance drew a wave of responses online and calls from music fans for the stars to signal support for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

"Respect to Annie Lennox. Shame it took so long into this awards season for a celeb to say this," former MSNBC journalist Mehdi Hasan wrote in a post on X. 

Social commentator and activist Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu also praised Lennox, saying she was the "real deal" for using her "visibility" to amplify calls for peace in Palestine. 

While some have credited the Scottish performer for being the first mainstream artist to make demands for a ceasefire during a live broadcast, others have also criticised Lennox for not mentioning Gaza by name. 

I think our very own Annie Lennox was the only artist at the Grammys to call for a ceasefire after her performance of “Nothing Compares to You”

pic.twitter.com/tM3fOQOAtW

— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) February 5, 2024

"It also says a lot that during the memorial of Sinead O’Connor, all Annie Lennox could say was a call for a ceasefire (not specified where) and make a generic call for peace around the world," AJ+ journalist Sana Saeed wrote on X. 

Other attendees demonstrated their support for Gaza with Grammy award-winning bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding donning a Palestinian keffiyeh in a show of solidarity.

Meanwhile, the members of the pop-indie group boygenius - comprising of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus - wore red pins that represented the Artists Call for Ceasefire Now movement.  

Last October, the Artists Call for Ceasefire Now open letter elicited the signatures from other notable musicians such as Drake, Dua Lipa, and Jennifer Lopez that urged US President Joe Biden and Congress to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. 

"We ask that, as President of the United States, you and the US Congress call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost," the statement read.

"More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians."