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Hollywood is rarely unanimous — and even less reliably principled — on matters of human rights violations. But as images of bombed classrooms in Iran emerged, some familiar critics of Donald Trump were quick to respond.

Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump ordered daylight strikes on Iran in coordination with Israel, an escalation that has spiralled into full-blown conflict. The attacks killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a move that has plunged the Middle East into its most perilous crisis in decades.

Among the dead are 150 children after Israeli strikes destroyed a primary girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran. Nearly 100 others were wounded.

UNESCO expressed “deep alarm” at the bombing of an educational institution, calling it a grave violation of international humanitarian law and warning that attacks on schools “endanger students and teachers and undermine the right to education.”

As images of rubble and bloodied classrooms circulated online, American celebrities began directing their fury at the White House.

“The ‘Department of War.’ They weren’t kidding about that,” wrote Carrie Coon — best known for The Gilded Age — on X, mocking what many have described as an Orwellian rebrand of US defence messaging.

Actor John Cusack went further, calling out Trump for manufacturing conflict to distract from the Epstein files. “Trump starts a wag the dog war – to distract from Epstein and to do Netanyahu’s bidding – who’s lobbied for this for over 30 years – Had enough yet?” he wrote.

Comedian Rosie O’Donnell reposted clips from Trump’s 2024 campaign trail, juxtaposing his current military action with past promises. “If Kamala wins, only death and destruction await because she is the candidate of endless wars. I am the candidate of peace. I am peace,” one quote read. Another declared: “I’m not going to start a war, I’m going to stop wars.” O’Donnell’s caption was blunt: “He lies only and always #impeachtrump.”

On the streets of Los Angeles, veteran activist and actor Jane Fonda compared the moment to the Vietnam war, warning that American troops could be sent into harm’s way “for all the wrong reasons”. She argued that the strikes violated not just international law but the US Constitution and the War Powers Act, and risked ballooning into a catastrophic regional war.

Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo shared an article about Trump adviser Jared Kushner on Threads, writing cryptically: “He was sent to make sure we went to war.”

Musician Jack White posted a lengthy Instagram screed mocking Trump’s public persona. “Don’t you love seeing him declare war on a country while wearing a trucker hat that says ‘USA’ on it?” he wrote, skewering what he described as the president’s performative patriotism and sarcastically suggesting that perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize was forthcoming “in his third term”.

Comedian Kathy Griffin was succinct: “Trump’s response to his name being cited in Epstein Files 38,000 times — Bomb Iran.”

Author Stephen King invoked the US Constitution directly, reminding followers that under Article I, Section 8, only Congress has the power to declare war, calling for Trump’s impeachment.

For many of these public figures, the outrage is not only about Trump’s politics but about broken promises. He ran — loudly — on being the candidate who would “stop wars”. Now, he has ignited one.

Whether celebrity condemnation moves the needle in Washington is another question. But in the age of social media, it does shape the cultural temperature. And right now, things are heated.