More than a thousand executives and creators in the entertainment industry have signed an open letter supporting Israel's continued participation in Eurovision. The letter was published in response to campaigns calling on the European Broadcasting Union to exclude Israel from the competition, and signatories include Helen Mirren, Boy George, Amy Schumer, Mila Kunis, Liev Schreiber, Mayim Bialik, Gene Simmons and Sharon Osbourne. The signatories emphasized that "a singing competition is meant to bridge cultural divides and unite people from different backgrounds. We are appalled and disappointed by calls to boycott Israel simply because it responded to the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust."