Actors Susan Sarandon and Melissa Barrera are both facing professional repercussions for their separate remarks regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
Sarandon, an Academy Award–winning performer who has worked in Hollywood for more than five decades, was dropped by United Talent Agency over comments she made at a pro-Palestinian rally last week, a rep for the agency confirmed to Deadline on Tuesday. “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,” Sarandon can be seen saying at the New York City demonstration in a video published by the New York Post.
These comments were criticized on social media, including by Aviva Klompas, a former speechwriter for Israel’s delegation to the United Nations, who said on X (formerly Twitter) that she had understood Sarandon’s statement to mean that Jews “have it coming—that we don’t deserve to live free from harassment and assault.”
Sarandon said at the rally that condemning Israel should not be characterized as antisemitic. “There’s a terrible thing that’s happened where antisemitism has been confused with speaking up against Israel,” she said, as reported by The New York Times. “I am against antisemitism. I am against Islamophobia.” Vanity Fair has reached out to a representative for Sarandon for comment.
Barrera, a relative newcomer known for her roles in Vida and In the Heights, has been cut from the upcoming thriller Scream VII, in which she was slated to return as Sam Carpenter. According to Variety, Barrera was “quietly dropped” from the film because of her social media posts that “referred to Israel as a ‘colonized’ land.”
Spyglass Media Group, the production company behind Scream VII, said in a statement to the outlet: “Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.” Christopher Landon, who is set to direct the Scream VII, wrote in a now deleted post on X: “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
Barrera has not officially commented on her departure from the film, but reposted on her Instagram stories a photo that reads: “At the end of the day, I’d rather be excluded for who I include than be included for who I exclude.” VF has reached out to Barrera’s reps for comment.
Savannah Walsh
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