‘It hurts’: Trump travel ban blocks Oscar nominee from attending award ceremony

Oscar-nominated actor Motaz Malhees is barred from attending this Sunday’s Academy Awards due to President Donald Trump’s travel ban for certain foreign nationals, with the actor taking to social media Friday to express his disappointment.

Malhees played a prominent role in the 2025 film “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” a dramatization of the real-life killing of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in 2024 when Israeli troops fired hundreds of rounds into a vehicle carrying her and her family. An Israeli tank reportedly fired on first responders attempting to reach her.

The film was nominated for Best International Film by the Academy Awards last December, but Malhees – who is Palestinian – said on Friday he won’t be able to attend the ceremony.

“I will not be there. I am not allowed to enter the United States because of my Palestinian citizenship,” Malhees wrote in a social media post on Instagram.

“It hurts. But here is the truth: You can block a passport. You cannot block a voice. I am Palestinian, and I stand with pride and dignity. My spirit will be with the voice of Hind Rajab that night. Good luck to all of you. Our story is bigger than any barrier, and it will be heard.”

Trump signed a proclamation last December that added “full restrictions and entry limitations” to those holding passports issued to them by the Palestinian Authority. In a shocking move, the Trump administration has also issued a directive to subject Palestinian immigrants, regardless of their citizenship, to heightened scrutiny when applying for asylum, a move described by legal experts as unprecedented given its focus on an entire ethnic group.