Stars Celebrate a Victory for the Dakota Access Pipeline Protesters

Sometimes it takes a village, though an army of celebrities doesn’t hurt either. On Sunday, the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers announced that it was not approving an easement needed to permit the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, and it didn’t take long for social media to sparkle with joyful postings in honor of the news.

Shailene Woodley was one of the earliest and most devout celebrity critics of the pipeline (which protesters argued would have compromised both sacred sites and drinking water by crossing Lake Oahe — the main water source for the Standing Rock Sioux reservation), so it was no surprise that she was elated to hear the news.

Woodley, who was also arrested while protesting in October, had traveled between Standing Rock and Washington, D.C. over the last few weeks as she protested the pipeline’s path, reporting from the frontlines of both political rallies and violence at the scene of the planned construction.

But she was hardly alone in her quest to change the pipeline’s course, and when the news broke, a chorus of other stars chimed in. One of the other dedicated activists was Mark Ruffalo, who shared a joyful video via Instagram, which was reposted by both Chris Hemsworth and Susan Sarandon. (Chris Hemsworth had previously posted his support of Standing Rock and took the opportunity to apologize for dressing as one of the “First Nations people” at a Lone Ranger-themed New Year’s Eve party.)

“Hey everybody! I just got the news that President Obama, dear President Obama, just denied access to the Dakota pipeline. Congratulations to all our relatives at Standing Rock and all of the beautiful people who fought to make this happen,” he began. “Thank you, President Obama. Thank you, Army Corps of Engineers. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” He then expressed his hope that the country could now turn its focus to moving forward to become a “leader in renewable energy” and declared that it was “a beautiful day.”

He followed this up with a celebratory pic marking “The rebirth of a Nation.”

Solange Knowles echoed Ruffalo’s sentiments with a tweet of her own.

Katy Perry also took to Twitter to express her happiness over the development, ending her message with a smattering of emoji.

Like Katy, Pharrell Williams took the announcement as a sign that people can create change.

Sally Field also applauded the protesters’ efforts, arguing they’d “taught us all something of great value” and that something was “Stand your ground!”

Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams also posted a message, though his lamented the fact that it took “too long” for the government to decide to do the right thing.

While he wasn’t pleased with how long it took to get to this decision, he — and so many others — were clearly thrilled that they were a step closer to their goal, though the incoming administration could very well reverse course and continue the project along the original route.