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Susan Sarandon Says Hollywood Still Takes Roles Away Over Gaza Stance

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Susan Sarandon said agencies are still telling people not to hire her because of her criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.
  • She was dropped by United Talent Agency in 2023 after remarks at a pro-Palestinian rally, which she later called a serious mistake and publicly apologized for.
  • Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, Sarandon said public understanding of the war had changed but strong opposition to her remained within parts of the film industry.

Susan Sarandon says Hollywood has not stopped punishing her for speaking out against Israel’s war in Gaza. The actress told a Venice Film Festival press conference that she had recently lost movie roles because agencies were still discouraging people from hiring her.

“There’s still movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still. But that’s the power structure,” Sarandon said. She was speaking at Venice, where she appears in the Italian film “The Echo Chamber.”

I’ve still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still. But that’s the power structure.

· Susan SarandonShe said she continued to lose roles because of her political views.

Sarandon, a prominent pro-Palestinian campaigner, said the public understanding of the Gaza war and US support for Israel had changed. She pointed to greater awareness of the scale of US financial and military assistance to Israel, while saying that strongly held positions within the industry continued to affect her.

“There has been a change in terms of the understanding of the situation and the general public,” she said, adding that some people in the industry had not changed their feelings toward her. “But I found my family, I found my people, and I’m okay.” The remark drew applause.

I think there has been a change in terms of the understanding of the situation and the general public, but there are still very strongly held positions within my industry that are held by Zionists and who have not relaxed their feelings towards me.

· Susan SarandonShe described changing public awareness alongside continuing opposition within the film industry.

United Talent Agency dropped Sarandon in November 2023 after she told a pro-Palestinian rally that Jewish Americans were “getting a taste of what it is like to be Muslim in this country” amid rising antisemitic violence. She later apologized, calling her wording a “terrible mistake” because it suggested Jews had not previously faced persecution.

The Venice festival is also preparing to screen “NAZA,” a film by Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor about the killing of civilians in Gaza. The directors previously won an Oscar for “No Other Land,” which documented the displacement of a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers.

But I found my family, I found my people, and I’m okay.

· Susan SarandonShe told the audience she had found support despite the backlash.
About this summary

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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