Protest at the BRIT Awards: Jacob Alon raises Palestinian scarf and more

It was a politically charged night at Saturday's 46th annual BRIT Awards.

Scottish singer-songwriter Jacob Alon held a Palestinian scarf during the ceremony as Sharon Osbourne took the stage. Osbourne was accepting the BRITs Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of her late husband, Ozzy Osbourne – who first hit the rock 'n' roll headlines as singer with Black Sabbath, whose eponymous debut album was released in 1970.

Alon's scarf was a black-and-white-patterned keffiyeh, a traditional Middle Eastern headdress often used to symbolise Palestinian solidarity.

Sharon Osbourne has been vocal in her support of Israel. Last year, she called for the revocation of KNEECAP's U.S. work visas in response to their pro-Palestine messaging during their Coachella set.

Alon, who won the BRITs Critics' Choice Award, was not alone in their protest.

Described as UK pop's newest megastar, Olivia Dean gave a call-out to "free Palestine" during an acceptance speech, but her statement was muted by ITV. One of the hottest properties in the business, Dean took home a whopping four awards on Saturday, including Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for her second LP The Art of Loving – a global smash hit, which hit No.1 in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, among other territories, and No.3 in the US.

In his acceptance speech for International Group of the Year, Geese drummer Max Bassin kept his remarks short and to the point, saying, "Free Palestine, fuck ICE."

On the red carpet, the rise of right-wing politics was a talking point for many artists, including Irish ace CMAT, who was nominated for International Artist of the Year.

"Everything is politics," she said. "But more than ever, art is politics because you don’t get to make art in a fascist state. Fascism is on the rise in every single country in the world."

Before winning Group of the Year, Wolf Alice bassist Theo Ellis expressed similar views. "The rise of Reform is a really bad thing that people should take very seriously," he said.

"I don’t want Reform UK to win any seats," echoed Wet Leg guitarist Joshua Omead Mobaraki.

Wet Leg frontwoman Rhian Teasdale expressed disdain for idea that you can separate art and politics. "I think that to be apolitical is political," she said.

And that perspective seems to be more widely shared than ever among artists, in a world where innocent people are being butchered, apparently without restraint...