Susan Sarandon has said she was blacklisted by Hollywood after calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in 2023. The Thelma and Louise star attended multiple rallies in support of Palestine following the October 7 attacks, and was dropped by her agency UTA as a consequence of some of her comments.
At one rally, she told the crowd: “There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country.” She later issued an apology for those remarks. She has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
While in Barcelona to accept a lifetime achievement prize at the Goya Awards, she said her stance led to her being effectively blacklisted. “I was fired by my agency, specifically for marching and speaking out about Gaza, for asking for a ceasefire, and it became impossible for me to even be on television,” she said at a press conference.
Sarandon said she has been offered work outside the US studio system, including the Italian film The Echo Chamber and the American indie film The Accompanist. She also starred in Mary Page Marlowe on stage in London’s West End last year. “An Italian director just hired me, but he was told not to hire me,” she added.
She praised the “moral clarity” of the Spanish government in its support of Palestine and reiterated that “the annihilation of the Palestinian people is a horrible crime”. Sarandon is among many entertainment figures to speak out for Palestine; in December, hundreds of musicians signed an open letter calling for Live Nation to drop operations in Israel.
