Celebrity activist Montana Tucker brings powerful virtual conversation to Calgary: Feb. 22

By Mark Cooper, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

(AJNews) – Montana Tucker never would have believed so many she thought she knew and trusted in the entertainment industry would shut her down for speaking up for humanity.

Yet with every career setback she experienced because of her unapologetic advocacy against antisemitism, the American model, singer, dancer, actor and fierce Jewish activist just grew stronger, carving out a new celebrity identity more meaningful to her than any one of her multitudes of significant previous achievements in the industry.

“When I first started talking about this, I lost hundreds of thousands of followers, I lost brand deals. I lost collaborators I collaborated with for years who said they will no longer collaborate because of my support for Israel,” said Tucker, the 33-year-old granddaughter of Holocaust survivors who have shaped her life’s mission.

“That was really sad and hard for me but it has only fueled me even more. It has made me want to be more outspoken, especially in the entertainment industry when there are so few speaking up and doing something, it’s made me really want to go even harder and make sure no one can miss my message.”

Nobody could have missed her when she gained worldwide attention, showing up to the 2024 Grammy Awards wearing a dress fashioned with a huge yellow ribbon for the Israeli hostages then still held by Hamas.

Today, her provocative message is shared regularly on her vast social media platform, mostly through a series of viral videos she produces of her having tough conversations with those with vastly different backgrounds than her – such as a former neo-Nazi skinhead and a Gazan-born and raised man who lost several family members in the recent conflict.

And as she gets ready to speak to a Calgary audience during an online session later this month hosted virtually by the Calgary Jewish Federation and Calgary Public Library, she says Diaspora Jews should not hesitate having difficult conversations of their own, including with their Muslim neighbours to build bridges and an understanding of each other’s perspectives.

“People are so nervous and scared to have conversations with people that might think differently than them and I think that’s the most important thing you can do.

“It’s really important for my platform to work with people and do videos with people who are different than me from different walks of life.

“And I think that’s the only way forward in general. If we all keep hating on each other we’re never going to come to a good place. We have to work hard and unite.”

She says those with “skin in the game” such as Jewish and Muslim communities need to find a way to have these conversations, while ignoring those with little connection to the conflict who seem to want to perpetuate the hatred.

She experienced that first hand when she collaborated on a video with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Palestinian American Humanitarian Activist, in early 2025 on social media to promote dialogue, peace, and understanding.

“We were getting so much hate (for doing the video) from people who were not Jewish, who were not Muslim, were not Israeli, not Palestinian.

“People with no skin in the game were hating on him for doing the video with me and it shows you what the reality of the situation is.

“The people who actually have skin in the game actually want peace.”

Before October 7, Tucker’s connection to her grandparents’ history and their resilience as survivors led to years of hard work documenting their stories and using her platform to educate younger generations about the Holocaust.

While she grew up hearing the stories of what they went through, her desire was truly ignited after her grandfather died six years ago at the age of 97 and she decided to re-watch, as an adult, the testimonies he and her grandmother gave to the Steven Spielberg-founded Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.

“I felt something completely different, that I needed to do something with these stories.”

She decided to go to Poland with her mother and create the docuseries How To: Never Forget, a ten-part series of short episodes which documents her time in Poland, her grandparents’ story – all in an effort to bring Holocaust awareness to a Gen Z audience.

Released at about the same time singer Kanye West came out with a series of antisemitic remarks that included Holocaust denial, Tucker’s series took on a life of its own. Her social media platform ignited, and by the time the events of October 7 occurred she had some 14 million followers across her platforms. “When October 7 happened, it was like a generational trauma and something completely took over me and said ‘I have to share the truth. I have to use my platform and my voice …”

She has been to Israel eight times since then to interview survivors, families and hostages. “I’ve shared real raw personal stories and I feel everything I have been doing has not been political. It’s really just been standing for humanity and I always will stand by that.”

Her documentary The Children of October 7 was released in 2025 and can be viewed now on Paramount Plus.

With the hostages released, Tucker can now see glimmers of some career normalcy creeping back in. A new movie release is on the horizon and a new song will be coming out in time for her to perform it at July’s 2026 Maccabiah Games in Israel.

“I’m so, so excited about that and while I’m working on a whole bunch of things, always at the forefront of my mind and of my life will be combatting antisemitism, standing up for Israel and trying to make difference in this world.”

Calgary Jewish Federation CEO Rob Nagus says Tucker has been a bold and brave champion of Holocaust education and the fight against antisemitism.

“I hope that people in Calgary, both Jewish and non-Jewish alike, will be inspired by her powerful and timely message,” said Nagus.

Her virtual Calgary presentation, Never Forget: Montana Tucker on the Holocaust, Antisemitism, and Hope, runs February 22 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. MST and is hosted in partnership with the Calgary Jewish Federation’s Holocaust and Human Rights: Remembrance and Education department. The department is supported by the Balaban family, Krell family, Viewpoint Foundation, and donors to the Calgary Public Library Foundation.

Participants can register for the session here.