The United Talent Agency dropped actress Susan Sarandon because of the latter’s remarks in a New York pro-Palestinian rally on November 17th. The New York Post recorded her speech where she stated, “There are a lot of people that are afraid, that are afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of how it feels to be Muslim in this country.”
After this video was shared with the public, many people on social media voiced their criticisms against Sarandon’s statement. Former United Nations speechwriter Aviva Klompas tweeted that she felt that Sarandon was “saying that American Jews have it coming — that we don’t deserve to live free from harassment and assault.”
However, according to the New York Times, Sarandon has made it a point to avoid antisemitism when criticizing Israel. “There’s a terrible thing that’s happened where antisemitism has been confused with speaking up against Israel,” she said. In this set of comments, she claimed that she hates both antisemitism and Islamaphobia.
Still, the UTA dropped Sarandon regardless due to the comments spread around by the New York Post. Neither Sarandon’s representatives nor spokespersons from the UTA have elaborated on these decisions and any possible responses.