Actress Susan Sarandon revealed Friday that speaking out for a ceasefire in Gaza has cost her opportunities in Hollywood, claiming she was effectively blacklisted by the entertainment industry.
“I was fired by my agency, specifically for marching and speaking out about Gaza, for asking for a ceasefire,” Sarandon told Reuters during a conversation in Barcelona, where she was being honored with the International Goya award.
According to Fox News, the Academy Award-winning actress said her advocacy made it nearly impossible to appear on television or secure major film roles.
“It became impossible for me to even be on television,” she said. “I don’t know lately if it’s changed. I couldn’t do any major film or anything connected with Hollywood.”
Sarandon was dropped by the United Talent Agency in November 2023 following remarks about the Israel-Gaza conflict at a rally in New York City.
At the event, she addressed rising violence against Muslims in the U.S. and later apologized for her phrasing regarding Jewish Americans.
She has since sought work outside of Hollywood.
“I found agents ultimately in England and in Italy, and I work there,” she said. “I just did a film in Italy, and I did a play at the Old Vic for a number of months. I know this Italian director that just hired me — he was told not to hire me, so that’s still recently. He didn’t listen, but they had that conversation.”
Sarandon added that she now focuses on independent films with emerging directors.
“Right now, I kind of specialize in tiny films with directors who have never directed, in independent films,” she said.
She also praised leaders in Spain and Ireland for their stance on Gaza. “In a place where you feel repression and censorship, to see Spain and to see the president and what he says and the support that he’s giving about Gaza… it makes you feel less alone, and it makes you feel that there is hope,” she said.
“When someone stands up so strongly, when a nation stands up, and I include Ireland in this too, I can’t tell you how very important it is to those of us who are trying in an atmosphere that is very difficult when we see that kind of strength and moral clarity, how much it means to us,” Sarandon added.
Her remarks underscore the challenges faced by public figures who take bold political stances in an industry often wary of controversy.
