Actor Susan Sarandon has been dropped by her talent agency after she spoke at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York this weekend, a representative for the agency confirmed.
A spokesperson for United Talent Agency (UTA), the group that signed Sarandon in 2014, on Tuesday told The Hollywood Reporter the agency would no longer be representing the Dead Man Walking actor.
Sarandon, 77, was dropped after she attended a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City’s Union Square on Nov. 17 and stood on the back of a truck to address the crowd of protesters.
“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, so often subjected to violence,” the Oscar winner told the crowd. “All over the world, all over the United States, people are questioning, people are standing up, people are educating themselves, people are stepping away from brainwashing that started when they were kids.”
Sarandon encouraged the crowd to “stand with anyone who has the courage to speak out in your office, in your school, in your homes.”
Sarandon thanked Jewish community members who were present at the New York rally and said they attended “to have our backs.”
Sarandon has been seen at multiple American pro-Palestinian rallies in the U.S. since conflict erupted on Oct. 7.
On that day, several thousand Hamas militants burst across the border into Israel, killing at least 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage. Most of the dead were civilians, while the hostages include small children, women and seniors.
Israel responded with weeks of blistering airstrikes on Gaza, followed by a ground invasion that began over three weeks ago.
More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli offensive, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. It does not differentiate between civilians and militants, though Israel says thousands of Hamas militants have been killed.
The Gaza Health Ministry has said at least 5,600 children have been confirmed killed in the Israeli bombardment, according to Reuters.
On Tuesday, Palestinian officials said they can no longer count the dead due to the collapse of many regional health systems and the difficulty of retrieving bodies from areas overrun by Israeli tanks and troops. Verifying a death count has become increasingly difficult as Israel’s ground invasion has intensified and at times severed phone and internet service and sown chaos across the territory, The Associated Press reported.
Israel’s cabinet on Wednesday approved a temporary ceasefire with Hamas that is expected to bring the first halt in fighting in a devastating six-week conflict and win freedom for dozens of hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip.
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Melissa Barrera and others
Sarandon isn’t the only Hollywood actor to face backlash for their statements about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
On Tuesday, actor Melissa Barrera, the star of the fifth and sixth Scream movies, was fired from the upcoming Scream V11 film after the project’s production company said her pro-Palestinian social media posts were antisemitic.
The production company Spyglass told Variety they fired Barrera, 33, because they have “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form.”
Though Spyglass did not point to any social media posts specifically, Barrera has made statements condemning Israel for “genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
Melissa Barrera at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Carmen’ held at the Linwood Dunn Theatre on April 20, 2023, in Los Angeles, Calif.
Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images
In October, high-ranking Creative Artists Agency (CAA) agent Maha Dakhil resigned from an internal board after she reshared an Instagram post condemning Israel for “genocide,” Variety reported.
The post read, “You’re currently learning who supports genocide.”
Dakhil added a short sentence of her own, writing, “That’s the line for me.” Dakhil then posted another photo with the caption, “What’s more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide? Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening.”
Dakhil has since deleted the posts and has publicly apologized.
She also resigned from her duties as co-head of CAA’s motion pictures department.
Dakhil represents a number of celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Natalie Portman and Madonna.
— With files from The Associated Press
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