Susan Sarandon dropped by talent agency after remarks on Gaza war

Two actresses, one a former Oscar winner and the other a relative newcomer, have been fired by Hollywood companies after their comments about the war between Israel and Hamas drew criticism.

Susan Sarandon, a five-time Oscar nominee and one-time winner (for best actress in 1995’s “Dead Man Walking”), was fired by United Talent Agency after making comments at a pro-Palestinian rally last week . An agency spokesman, Richard Siklos, confirmed Tuesday that the agency no longer represents Sarandon but declined to provide further details.

Efforts to reach Sarandon for comment were not immediately successful.

Separately, Spyglass Media Group has removed Melissa Barrera from the cast of the horror franchise “Scream” after she posted inflammatory comments on Instagram about Israel’s retaliation for Hamas attacks.

“We have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism or incitement to hatred in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, distortion of the Holocaust, or anything that crosses the line. blatantly limits hate speech,” Spyglass said in a statement Tuesday.

Representatives for Barrera did not respond to requests for comment.

United Talent dropped Sarandon after he made remarks at a rally in New York last week. “There are a lot of people who are afraid, who are afraid to be Jewish right now, and who have a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subject to violence she said at the rally. where she called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to a video published by the New York Post.

These comments were criticized on social networks; a former speechwriter for the Israeli delegation to the United Nations said on the X platform, formerly Twitter, that she had interpreter Sarandon’s remark suggests that Jews “get it – that we do not deserve to live free from harassment and assault.” The Post called his comments an “anti-Jewish rant” in a headline.

Sarandon told the rally that criticizing Israel should not be considered anti-Semitic. “A terrible thing happened where anti-Semitism was confused with denouncing Israel,” Sarandon said. “I am against anti-Semitism. I am against Islamophobia.

There has been a sharp increase in anti-Semitic crimes in New York since the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to police. On October 7, Hamas fighters infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 240 people hostage, according to the Israeli government. More than 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 4,600 children, have been killed since the start of the Israeli counter-offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Sarandon counts “Bull Durham” and “Thelma & Louise” among his credits. This year, she was featured in DC Comics’ latest film, “Blue Beetle,” which was a box office disappointment. She has also long been known for her political activism.

Hollywood has been torn apart in recent weeks by the war between Israel and Hamas. Some Jewish writers were angered that their union did not quickly issue a statement condemning Hamas. Maha Dakhil, a prominent agent at the Creative Artists Agency, posted messages on social media accusing Israel of “genocide” and then deleted them. She apologized and resigned from an internal management position within the company. One of her major clients, screenwriter and playwright Aaron Sorkin, dropped her as his agent, saying in a statement: “Maha is not an anti-Semite, she is simply wrong.” »