Celebrities Sign Statement in Support of Snowden, WikiLeaks

A group of over 50 musicians, actors, celebrities, and other public figures signed a statement in support of whistleblowing organization WikiLeaks and notorious NSA contractor Edward Snowden this week.

According to Rolling Stone, the signatories include musicians Moby, M.I.A., P.J. Harvey, Tom Morello, and Thurston Moore; actors Russell Brand, Viggo Mortensen, Pamela Anderson, and Susan Sarandon; and directors Alfonso Cuaron and Terry Gilliam. Political commentator and linguist Noam Chomsky and clothing designer Vivienne Westwood also signed the statement.

The statement reads:

We stand in support of those fearless whistleblowers and publishers who risk their lives and careers to stand up for truth and justice. Thanks to the courage of sources like Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning, Jeremy Hammond and Edward Snowden, the public can finally see for themselves the war crimes, corruption, mass surveillance, and abuses of power of the U.S. government and other governments around the world. WikiLeaks is essential for its fearless dedication in defending these sources and publishing their truths. These bold and courageous acts spark accountability, can transform governments and ultimately make the world a better place.

Several of the people who signed the statement of support issued statements of their own, including Viggo Mortensen, who called for the public to donate to the Courage Foundation, Snowden’s legal defense fund.

“As Albert Camus once put it, governments, by definition, do not have consciences; they have policies and nothing more,” Mortensen wrote in his statement. “Therefore, it is up to all of us free-thinking citizens to demand truly transparent democracy and high, unbiased moral standards from those who govern us. I hope everyone can chip in to support Snowden and those patriotic whistleblowers that come after him.”

In her own statement, clothing designer Westwood promoted CitizenFour, a new documentary sympathetic to Snowden.

“I didn’t ask Edward Snowden to stick his neck out for me,” Westwood’s statement read. “But now that he did, I ask myself where would we be without him?”