Paloma Faith gave a powerful speech at a London protest on Saturday, where she insisted that she ‘won’t fall silent until Palestine is free’.
Standing behind a lectern, the British singer, 43, delivered her speech as protesters gathered near the Embassy of Israel in support of Palestine, after Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas and resumed its attacks on Gaza.
Addressing the crowd, Paloma said: ‘When the ceasefire was called, like all of you I was relieved but fearful that it would not last.
‘I know that Isreal has violated every ceasefire agreement it has ever signed, but even with that knowledge and that fear, even after watching months of that genocide, I wasn’t prepared for these new deaths of brutality that Israel has descended.
A visibly upset Paloma continued: ‘Last Tuesday, in 24 hours, Israel killed 174 children – that’s more than seven an hour.
‘A child slaughtered every eight minutes, we should stand in silence for a minute for every child killed in Gaza in this genocide but if we did that, we’d be silent for over 300 hours so I won’t fall silent.
Paloma Faith gave a powerful speech at a London protest on Saturday, where she insisted that she ‘won’t fall silent until Palestine is free’
Standing behind a lectern, the British singer, 43, delivered her speech as protesters gathered near the Embassy of Israel in support of Palestine , after Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas and resumed its attacks on Gaza
‘I’m fortunate to have a platform and I know that if I don’t use it to speak out for the oppressed then I am complicit in their oppression.’
Later in the day, Paloma posted the video of her full speech on her Instagram writing alongside it: ‘I will post the full speech on Monday. But today was poignant.
‘I found it hard to contain my emotions as I struggle to do in private most evenings. Thank you to @palestinesolidarityuk for having me speak today. Anyone who has a heart, you must see how wrong this is?’
It comes after Paloma explained why she believes she will never be ‘cancelled’, crediting her upbringing for placing her ‘on the right side of ethics and morals’.
The singer launched her podcast Mad, Sad & Bad earlier this year and has been as candid as ever, detailing in one episode how she was caught in the middle of a sex act while on a street in Spain.
And the star remains convinced that her outspoken views and wild stories will not land her in hot water, explaining to The Sun how she steers clear of scandal.
She said: ‘I’m not worried about being cancelled at all. I am pretty cocky about my morals and my ethics.
‘I feel like my politics and everything I’ve done is OK. I was raised by a socialist in a multicultural environment, with gay, straight, trans, drag queens, everyone, all around me.’
A visibly upset Paloma posted the video of her full speech on her Instagram and admitted that she found it hard to contain her emotions before adding ‘Anyone who has a heart, you must see how wrong this is?’
The Only Love Can Hurt Like This hitmaker delved further into her childhood and how the seminal moment she first saw a cross-dresser at the age of 10 had stuck with her.
‘Most people getting called out are straight white men, isn’t it? They deserve it. You can’t just go around grabbing people’s bums and dropping drugs in women’s drinks or f***ing shouting homophobic abuse at people and then not expect it to come back on you.’
Paloma also reflected on the first two months of her podcast, which have seen an eclectic mix of guests join her on the show including Alan Carr and Mel B.
She said that the first run of episodes had focussed on conversations with her close friends but she expressed a desire to branch out once the series had built up a head of steam
The hitmaker added that she occasionally re-listens to recordings to check that things she has said have come across in the right way.
Paloma’s remarks come after she looked to get Mad, Sad & Bad off to a raucous start with a teaser on TikTok.
The Never Tear Us Apart singer revealed that the ‘baddest’ moment of her life took place when she was younger, saying: ‘When I was 21 I allowed someone to go down on me in the street in Seville.
‘And an old lady walked past and she looked at us. I made eye contact with her and she just went (shakes her head in disgust).’
Sharing her ‘maddest’ time, Paloma revealed it was when Transport for London released the Oyster travel card.
Paloma Faith (pictured, in February) has explained why she believes she will never be ‘cancelled’, crediting her upbringing for placing her ‘on the right side of ethics and morals’
The star (pictured, in July) remains convinced that her outspoken views and wild stories will not land her in hot water, taking to her new show to explain how she steers clear of scandal
Paloma also reflected on the first two months of her podcast, which have seen an eclectic mix of guests join her on the show
Paloma admitted her ‘saddest’ moment was when she split up with the father of her children Leyman Lahcine (pictured, in 2018) and then wrote her latest album, The Glorification of Sadness
She said: ‘I spent three hours making a paper mache oyster shell so that I could take myself to the bus.
‘And when the bus doors opened I tapped it on the reader and the driver went, ‘What are you doing?’
‘And I was like, ‘It’s an Oyster!’ He was like, ‘I’m not moving this bus until you’ve paid’.
‘That is a bit mad because it wasn’t for anybody’s kind of fun, it was just for my own amusement.’
Paloma’s ‘saddest’ moment was when she split up with the father of her children and then wrote her latest album, The Glorification of Sadness.
The singer dated Leyman Lahcine for nine years prior to their split in 2022.
Earlier this month, however, Paloma went public with her boyfriend Stevie Thomas, who she has been secretly dating for a year, at the Sony Music BRITs afterparty.
The star wrapped her arms around her beau, who is managing director of venue The JamHouse, as they partied it up after the star-studded music awards.
Earlier this month, however, Paloma went public with her boyfriend, who she has been secretly dating for a year, at the Sony Music BRITs afterparty
The singer wrapped her arms around Stevie Thomas, who is managing director of venue The JamHouse, as they partied it all up after the star-studded music awards
The pair put on a cosy display as they were snapped laughing and larking around with one another, before jumping on the vibrant dance floor.
Paloma recently revealed she is ‘pulling in from everywhere’ for her new project.
The 43-year-old singer is back in the studio working on what will be her seventh studio album and she has explained that it is sees her ‘in between’ polarised emotions and she is making lyrics out of everyday conversations to form it.
She told The Sun that she has been getting inspiration from things that happened in her life as well as things she has noted down each day and passages she has read.
