PARIS — Hollywood celebrities are paying the price for taking sides in the conflict in Gaza — plastering their social media accounts with slogans such as "Free Palestine" or "I stand with Israel".

Israeli actress Gal Gadot, best known for starring in Wonder Woman, has expressed unyielding support for her country since the conflict started on Oct 7.

"I stand with Israel, you should too," she declared to her 109 million Instagram followers.

She has continued to regularly publish or share posts demanding that Hamas release the hostages it is holding, earning her both approval and criticism.

"While you're at it, can you use your platform to share all the missing and killed innocent Palestinians too?" a user on X, formerly Twitter, wrote in response to one of her posts.

The Instagram account of model Gigi Hadid, who is of Palestinian descent and followed by 79 million, has spent less attention on fashion in recent weeks. She cited the "systemic mistreatment of the Palestinian people by the government of Israel".

"Stop spreading lies. You and your sisters are antisemitic," read one comment, with many others expressing similar views.

Famous stars can generate equally strong admiration and repulsion from the public, especially if they comment on divisive issues.

Well before social media, boxer Muhammad Ali, actress Jane Fonda and singer Bob Dylan were adored or hated over their opposition to the Vietnam War.

But the Israeli-Palestinian issue is more divisive than most, exposing celebrities to even fiercer backlash.

Kylie Jenner, the half sister of socialite Kim Kardashian, shared a pro-Israeli post with her 399 million Instagram followers shortly after Oct 7, which she deleted an hour later after being hit with insults.

Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency in November for comments she made at a pro-Palestinian rally, for which she later apologized.

'A lot to lose, little to gain'

Melissa Barrera, star of the fifth and sixth installments of the Scream franchise, was cut from the cast of the seventh installment by the producers, who said they had "zero tolerance for anti-Semitism and incitement to hatred". The Mexican had denounced what she called "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza.

Celebrities who take sides in the conflict have "a lot to lose and little to gain", said Nicolas Vanderbiest, founder of public relations firm Saper Vedere in Brussels.

Producers and sponsors have little appetite for mixing geopolitics and business, he said.

Jamil Jean-Marc Dakhlia, a professor of information and communication at Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris, said celebrities could just stay quiet. But with this conflict, there is "pressure to pronounce" and there is no immunity from criticism.

"Silence is seen as taking a position," he said. "So, we are in a situation where you are forced to take sides, and not necessarily with much nuance."