Blaming ‘Zionists,’ Susan Sarandon says she’s still losing film roles over Gaza stance

VENICE, Italy — US actress Susan Sarandon said Sunday she was still having roles “taken away” from her in Hollywood because of her outspoken criticism of Israel over the Gaza war, and blamed “Zionists” for the hit to her career.

The “Thelma & Louise” star was dropped by her agency UTA in November 2023, shortly after the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught that sparked the war in Gaza, over controversial remarks at a pro-Palestinian rally which she later said she regretted.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, where she has a role in Italian film “The Echo Chamber,” she claimed the “narrative” around the Gaza war and the United States’ support for Israel had “completely changed.”

“There’s a lot of things that people are aware of now,” the Oscar winner told a press conference, referring to the extent of US financial and military aid for Israel. She mentioned “the ties of Zionists with America in our politics.”

“In terms of the power structure, I’ve still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still,” she added.

She said later: “I think there has been a change in terms of understanding of the situation and, I think, 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.”

“But I found my family, I found my people, and I’m okay,” she added to a round of applause.

Conflict spills over into film festival

The conflict over the war in Gaza has once again spilled into this year’s Venice Film Festival, with activists calling on organizers to raise the Palestinian flag in recognition of Palestinian directors screening at the event.

Artistic Director Alberto Barbera has said this is impossible because Italy does not formally recognize the state of Palestine, but he has pointed to several films being shown on the Lido that show the struggle of ordinary Palestinians.

The premiere of “NAZA” — about the killing of civilians in Gaza — by two Israeli directors looks set to be one of the most emotionally charged moments of the Venice festival when it premieres on Thursday.

Directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor won an Oscar for 2024’s “No Other Land,” which documented the displacement of a Palestinian community in the West Bank by Israeli settlers.

Sarandon, the veteran star of “Dead Man Walking,” has been one of Hollywood’s most outspoken pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists alongside others such as Mark Ruffalo, Richard Gere, and Joaquin Phoenix.

She was dropped by United Talent Agency for telling a rally in November 2023 that Jewish Americans were “getting a taste of what it is like to be Muslim in this country” because of rising antisemitic violence.

She issued a public apology, saying her choice of words had been a “terrible mistake” because they implied “that until recently Jews have been strangers to persecution, when the opposite is true.”