Hundreds of Native Hawaiians and allied protesters have been camped out recently at the base of Mauna Kea, a mountain on Hawaii Island, to protest the construction of a proposed Thirty Meter Telescope at the summit. Countless celebrities have come forward in support of the protest, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Damian Marley, Jason Momoa and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.
Bruno Mars is the latest to support his home state. He took to Instagram on Thursday (Aug. 1) to share a photo of the ongoing protest, which features the Natives holding up signs in blankets to keep warm. “I love you Hawaii, and I’m with you,” he wrote, adding the hashtag #protectmaunakea.
Mars was born in 1985 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and lived there until he graduated high school, when he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his musical career.
On Tuesday (July 30), Hawaii Gov. David Ige withdrew an emergency proclamation for Mauna Kea as Hurricanes Erick and Flossie approach the island. According to CNN, Ige said there are “no immediate plans to move heavy equipment up the mountain.”