Joan Baez, Graham Nash, Sean Ono Lennon, Allison Russell, Auli’i Cravalho and Josh Gad are among dozens of notables from the worlds of film, television, music and related industries who have signed an open letter warning about the rising nuclear threat that appears Wednesday (Aug. 6) in The New York Times and Variety.
Under the headline “No More Hiroshimas, No More Nagasakis: Cultural Leaders for a Future Without Nuclear Weapons,” the letter begins: “Eighty years ago, atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and changed the course of history. … Today, experts believe the risk that a nuclear weapon will be used again—by accident or on purpose—is as high as it has ever been. Conflicts are raging in regions with nuclear weapons—even over nuclear weapons.
“The only remaining treaty limiting the number of nuclear weapons in the world expires in six months. Emerging technologies and AI pose new unknown risks to already complex systems. We’re sliding into a costly and dangerous new arms race under the absurd premise that threatening annihilation keeps us safe. But the ending isn’t written yet, and the creative community has a leading role to play in pulling us back from the nuclear brink.”
The letter includes a pledge to use their voices, platforms, leadership, and storytelling expertise to call attention to the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and help people imagine a safer future without them.
Other actors and creatives who signed the letter include Rosanna Arquette, Lawrence Bender, Kathryn Bigelow, Yvette Nicole Brown, James Cameron, Alan Cumming, Michael Douglas, Walton Goggins, Topher Grace, Clark Gregg, Harry Hamlin, Matthew Modine, Julianne Moore, Olivia Munn, Lisa Rinna, Martin Sheen, George Takei, Emma Thompson and Lily Tomlin.
Many of these people have been anti-nuclear activists for decades. Nash performed at and helped organize No Nukes: The MUSE Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future at Madison Square Garden in 1979. Douglas produced and starred in The China Syndrome, a nuclear-themed thriller that was released that same year.
The statement was endorsed by the governors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and by Ernest J. Moniz, former U.S. Secretary of Energy and co-chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). Highlighting today’s growing nuclear risks, Moniz noted: “The possibility that a nuclear weapon will be used again—by accident or on purpose—is rising. We can barrel toward catastrophe, or we can come together behind a different path that eliminates the nuclear threat.”
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