Microsoft president Brad Smith hosted an impromptu press conference on Tuesday afternoon, just hours after protesters gained access to a building at the company’s headquarters and held a sit-in demonstration inside his office.
Seated on the edge of his desk, in the office that had been occupied by protesters earlier that day, Smith addressed a group of reporters and viewers on a live stream. “Obviously, this was an unusual day,” he said, the camera shaking as he spoke.
The protesters were part of the No Azure for Apartheid group, which on several occasions this year interrupted Microsoft’s public presentations to demand that the company terminate all contracts with the Israeli government and military.
Smith said that Microsoft is “committed to ensuring its human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld in the Middle East.” He said the company launched an investigation earlier this month after the Guardian reported that Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform was being used for surveillance of Palestinians. Smith said that Microsoft disagreed with some of the report’s findings, but that others warranted investigation.
“We are working every day to get to the bottom of what’s going on, and we will,” Smith said.
An organizer for No Azure for Apartheid, Abdo Mohamed, earlier today told The Verge that Microsoft employees Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle were part of the protest. They were joined by former Microsoft employees Vaniya Agrawal, Hossam Nasr, and Joe Lopez.
Smith said that seven people in total were involved with today’s protests, with two of them being Microsoft employees. The people were removed by Redmond police, he said.
“When seven folks do as they did today, storm a building, occupy an office, lock other people out of the office, plant listening devices — even in crude form, in the form of telephones, cellphones hidden under couches and behind books — that’s not ok,” Smith said. “When they’re asked to leave and they refused, that’s not ok.”
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![Hey Dave Filoni, Leslye Headland Is Still Down for ‘The Acolyte’ Season 2
No matter what you thought about The Acolyte season one, there is no denying that season two was going to be incredible. Creator Leslye Headland and her team ended that first season with the promise of exploring multiple Dark Side relationships, the reveal of potentially the ultimate Sith in Darth Plagueis, a deep dive into the corruption of the Jedi, and even Yoda’s complicity in it. But, of course, that didn’t happen. Instead, Disney decided not to move forward with more episodes of The Acolyte. A true disappointment to fans of the show, but not all that surprising. The show, of course, had invited all manner of vitriol, and it seems like viewership didn’t quite justify the cost of more episodes. However, in the years since, the show has endured. In fact, just recently, there were reports that it once again cracked the top 10 on Disney+. And, in a new interview, Headland said that she’d still be interested in returning to a galaxy far, far, away. “I would still want to do it! Absolutely,” she told Empire, via Fantha Tracks. “As more people discover it, I think people may want to see some form of the story come back. We did have a lot of stuff that we wanted to explore, including tying in lore to the sequels. Getting into who exactly Manny [Jacinto]’s character is, his connection with [Jedi Master] Vernestra, his connection with [Sith Lord] Plagueis, and then his connection with other sequel-established things.”
Headland went on to say that she’s also felt the show returning a bit in recent days. “I’m having a resurgence of The Acolyte in my real life,” she said. “I speak with people who are really big fans, and were disappointed in the cancellation. was like, I went to a play last night, and somebody ‘I just have to tell you that I loved it.’”
We loved it too and think a second season would be absolutely incredible. Who wouldn’t want to see The Stranger with his new apprentice, and how that works with his master, Plagueis? Or what lengths the Jedi will go to in order to cover it all up? Hey, Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni, take note! Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Hey #Dave #Filoni #Leslye #Headland #Acolyte #SeasonDave Filoni,Leslye Headland,Star Wars,The Acolyte Hey Dave Filoni, Leslye Headland Is Still Down for ‘The Acolyte’ Season 2
No matter what you thought about The Acolyte season one, there is no denying that season two was going to be incredible. Creator Leslye Headland and her team ended that first season with the promise of exploring multiple Dark Side relationships, the reveal of potentially the ultimate Sith in Darth Plagueis, a deep dive into the corruption of the Jedi, and even Yoda’s complicity in it. But, of course, that didn’t happen. Instead, Disney decided not to move forward with more episodes of The Acolyte. A true disappointment to fans of the show, but not all that surprising. The show, of course, had invited all manner of vitriol, and it seems like viewership didn’t quite justify the cost of more episodes. However, in the years since, the show has endured. In fact, just recently, there were reports that it once again cracked the top 10 on Disney+. And, in a new interview, Headland said that she’d still be interested in returning to a galaxy far, far, away. “I would still want to do it! Absolutely,” she told Empire, via Fantha Tracks. “As more people discover it, I think people may want to see some form of the story come back. We did have a lot of stuff that we wanted to explore, including tying in lore to the sequels. Getting into who exactly Manny [Jacinto]’s character is, his connection with [Jedi Master] Vernestra, his connection with [Sith Lord] Plagueis, and then his connection with other sequel-established things.”
Headland went on to say that she’s also felt the show returning a bit in recent days. “I’m having a resurgence of The Acolyte in my real life,” she said. “I speak with people who are really big fans, and were disappointed in the cancellation. was like, I went to a play last night, and somebody ‘I just have to tell you that I loved it.’”
We loved it too and think a second season would be absolutely incredible. Who wouldn’t want to see The Stranger with his new apprentice, and how that works with his master, Plagueis? Or what lengths the Jedi will go to in order to cover it all up? Hey, Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni, take note! Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Hey #Dave #Filoni #Leslye #Headland #Acolyte #SeasonDave Filoni,Leslye Headland,Star Wars,The Acolyte](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/06/Acolyte-star-wars-lightsabers-1280x853.jpg)
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