Pulitzer-winning Palestinian author confronts Saint Levant and Huda Kattan: 'Do you really care about Gaza?'

Ad campaign 'for the homeland' has been called 'tone deaf'

Huda Kattan and Saint Levant collaborated for Palestine-inspired product for Kattan's brand Huda Beauty. Photo: Huda Beauty

Pulitzer Prize-winning Palestinian author Mosab Abu Toha has publicly criticised singer Saint Levant and beauty entrepreneur Huda Kattan, questioning the timing and tone of their new collaboration inspired by Palestinian identity.

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.

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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.