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Anthony Wilson
Shawn Mendes
Music News
Shawn Mendes Shares 'Free Palestine' Message: 'They Need Our Help'
In a lengthy statement posted to Instagram, the Toronto-born music star called for his friends and fellow musicians to support organizations he has donated to, such as the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Watermelon Pictures and the Woven Futures Fund. "The more of us that use our voice, the closer we are to change," he says.
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Shawn Mendes has voiced his support for Palestine.
Today (Nov. 12), the Canadian hitmaker posted a statement on Instagram calling for a "Free Palestine," in which he encourages his friends and family to support the cause and donate to local organizations providing relief for Palestine.
"Free Palestine. There is a genocide happening before our eyes," he writes. "The senseless killing in Gaza must stop. The children and families in Palestine have suffered for far too long, and they need our help. I’ve been working on educating myself and learning as much as I can to understand where and how I can make a difference, and I am asking you to do the same. I’ve shared a few of the organizations that I’ve made donations to below."
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In the caption, he tagged the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, the independent film distributor Watermelon Pictures championing Palestinian cinema and the Woven Futures Fund, which is managed by the Women Donors Network.
Mendes' statement also calls to normalize "speaking up and standing up for those suffering from oppression," and he has repeatedly used his platform to uplift marginalized communities. Last year, he was one of several performers at the Artists for Aid Palestine benefit concert in Los Angeles organized by Canadian artist Mustafa. In Oct. 2025, he invited rising Cree-Salish singer Tia Wood to perform a surprise duet during his concert at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, in which she paid tribute to murdered and missing Indigenous girls and women onstage before tens of thousands of concertgoers. Wood also invited Mendes to visit Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta, where he sat in ceremony with the singer and ate moose stew, learning about her culture and her family's history through different rites and personal landmarks.
The following month, he also shared an Instagram post reflecting on his visits to the Jaraguá Indigenous Land in Brazil and the Indigenous communities in Sarayaku, Ecuador, in which he explained that "protecting and standing for the rights of indigenous people worldwide wide is intertwined with protecting and standing for nature itself," adding that Indigenous people are at the heart of protecting and restoring our Earth. Mendes has also launched his own philanthropic organization, the Shawn Mendes Foundation, which donated $1 million to Toronto's SickKids hospital in 2022 to launch and fund its "Wonder of Music" music therapy & education program.
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"My friends and fellow artists, I know it can feel scary to speak up; I feel it now as I type this… I also feel the need to do something to help. The more of us that use our voice, the closer we are to change. If you agree please search your heart, find your courage and do what you can to help. These children in Palestine have had to be brave for too long. It’s our turn to do the same now," Mendes says in his post.
The United Nations has classified Israel’s actions as a genocide against Palestinians, but Israel — and its allies, including the United States — have denied this. Celebrities such as Olivia Rodrigo, Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo and Dua Lipa have continued to amplify calls to end the killings of Palestinians in Gaza.
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Mendes joins a number of artists advocating for the cause, including fellow Canadian bbno$, who held a benefit concert in Los Angeles earlier this week to raise funds for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Rapper Macklemore also made headlines this month with his "Free Palestine" benefit tour, which was announced after his removal from Ed Sheeran's stadium tour following his "Free Palestine" comments onstage, which generated a high-profile media controversy.
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"Donate, educate, encourage, challenge, hold those in power accountable, vote. With so much love, I believe in us," he concludes.
Read the full statement below.
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