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French fashion house Saint Laurent is facing criticism from Jewish organizations and calls for a boycott over a new campaign.
The brand, led by Belgian designer Anthony Vaccarello, released a digital campaign for "Saint Laurent Sushi Park," a new Parisian branch of its Japanese restaurant in collaboration with chef Peter Park. The campaign features Palestinian rapper Saint Levant (Marwan Abdelhamid), who has made anti-Israel and anti-Jewish statements since October 7.
In November 2024, Saint Levant sparked controversy during a concert in Amsterdam, where he praised rioters who attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv fans. Holding a Palestinian flag, he told the crowd, “Quick little shoutout to our Moroccan brothers for what they did the other day. Because it’s not the first time that they come to a land that’s not theirs and start some shit. So thank you for taking care of business.”
Jewish groups such as StopAntisemitism and SDS condemned Saint Laurent’s decision and urged the brand to cut ties with him. "We urge everyone to boycott YSL until they stop supporting antisemitic figures," one statement read.
Critics also pointed to the rapper’s past collaboration with singer Dua Lipa, who has been outspoken against Israel. Saint Laurent's and Vaccarello’s social media pages were flooded with boycott calls, Israeli flags and hostage symbols. "Shame on you," one commenter wrote. "Maybe change your logo to a swastika?"
Saint Levant, 24, was born in East Jerusalem during the Second Intifada to an Algerian-French mother and a Palestinian-Serbian father. His family moved to Gaza, where his parents opened a beachfront hotel.
He attended the American International School until 2007 before relocating to Jordan. In 2018, he moved to the U.S. to study international relations at the University of California, Santa Barbara, graduating in 2022. He now splits his time between Amman and Los Angeles.
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He has gained international fame in recent years, blending music with pro-Palestinian activism. His stage name is a play on "the Levant" and "Saint Laurent," possibly explaining his casting. He was previously an ambassador for Dior in the Arab world and recently appeared in a fashion feature in Vogue.
His trilingual rap song "Very Few Friends," released in 2022, went viral on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Last year, he performed at Coachella, using the stage to raise awareness about the war in Gaza.
"Everything that I do is really focused and based on the Palestinian cause and struggle. I do a lot of contextualizing of the Palestinian struggle because when I came to America, I realized that a lot of people thought the Palestinian struggle was just a conflict between two equal sides who simply hate each other for no reason," he said in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar.
"What people don’t understand is that it’s 80 years of occupation, oppression, displacement and ethnic cleansing. So, I think it’s very important to always push that narrative forward, and I try to do it through my music, my actions, and everything that I do."
Ynet reached out to Saint Laurent and its parent company Kering for comment. No response was received by the time of publication.