- The oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon has been dropped by United Talent Agency.
- She drew criticism for comments made at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City.
Susan Sarandon has been dropped by her talent agency over comments she made at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York last week, a spokesperson from the agency told Deadline.
The Oscar-winning actress, who has been represented by United Talent Agency (UTA) since 2014, has attended several rallies about the Israel-Hamas war, but drew criticism for comments she made during a speech at Union Square.
In a video shared by The New York Post, she tells the crowd that Jews who are feeling afraid "are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence."
Some interpreted her comments as a suggestion that Jews deserved to be scared and to ignore the discrimination experienced by Jews in the US.
Aviva Klompass, a former speechwriter for Israel's delegation to the UN, said on X that Sarandon's comments implied that "American Jews have it coming - that we don't deserve to live free from harassment and assault."
Since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in the US have risen sharply.
In another clip of the rally Sarandon says being anti-Palestinian is the result of "brainwashing and conditioning for years and years."
The actress also reposted a pro-Palestinian post from Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, who has repeatedly been accused of antisemitism in the past, per The Guardian. He's denied that he is antisemitic.
Antisemitism should not be "confused with speaking up against Israel," Sarandon also said at the rally, per The New York Times. "I am against antisemitism. I am against Islamophobia."
UTA's decision to drop Sarandon is one of the highest-profile examples of an agency taking action over public comments about the conflict.
Maha Dakhil, the co-head of film at CAA, resigned from its board in October after reposting an Instagram story that read "you're currently learning who supports genocide." She later issued an apology.
However, the screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who was a CAA client, moved to rival William Morris Endeavor Entertainmnet (WME) in response to the incident. He told Variety: "Maha isn't an antisemite, she's just wrong."
In another case, "Scream VI" star Melissa Barrera was fired from the next instalment of the franchise on Tuesday by the production company Spyglass after calling Israel's action "genocide."
The International Holocaust Remembrance alliance includes comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis under its definition of antisemitism.
UTA did not immediately reply to Business Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.