NEW YORK Nov 24 : Hollywood companies have dropped Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and another star Melissa Barrera over their pro-Palestine views and for opposing Israel\u2019s deadly bombardment of the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to US media reports.
\nThe United Talent Agency dropped Ms. Sarandon after she made remarks at a rally in New York last week, said a spokesperson for the firm, who did not elaborate on the decision.
\nMs. Sarandon, a prolific political activist known for her left-wing views, received criticism after she said at a pro-Palestinian rally Friday that people who are \u201cafraid of being Jewish at this time\u201d are \u201cgetting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence.\u201d
\nThe remarks were recorded in a video published by the New York Post. The tabloid reported that Ms. Sarandon called for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which has been under siege and bombardment by Israeli forces since Oct. 7.
\nThe comments attracted attention on social media. Aviva Klompas, a former speechwriter for Israel\u2019s Mission at the United Nations, tweeted that she believed Ms. Sarandon was \u201csaying that American Jews have it coming \u2014 that we don\u2019t deserve to live free from harassment and assault.\u201d
\nIn other comments at the rally, Ms. Sarandon said criticism of Israel should not be conflated with antisemitism. \u201cThere\u2019s a terrible thing that\u2019s happened where antisemitism has been confused with speaking up against Israel,\u201d she said, according to The New York Times.
\n\u201cI am against antisemitism. I am against Islamophobia,\u201d she went on to say.
\nIn a separate development, Spyglass Media Group confirmed that it had dropped Ms. Barrera, an up-and-coming actor, from the \u201cScream\u201d horror series after a series of Instagram posts reportedly condemned Israel in strong terms.
\nWriting in one post, she reportedly said, \u201cWestern media only shows the [Israeli] side. Why do they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself.\u201d (NBC News has not seen the posts; Variety reported on them.)
\nIn a statement posted on social media Wednesday, Ms. Barrera said she would continue to speak out when she felt compelled.
\n\u201cFirst and foremost I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people. \u2026 Every person on this earth \u2014 regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or socio-economic status \u2014 deserves equal human rights, dignity, and, of course, freedom,\u201d she wrote.
\nIn her remarks, Ms. Sarandon, the six-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee, also said, \u201cPeople are questioning, people are standing up, people are educating themselves, people are stepping away from brainwashing that started when they were kids.\u201d
\nAccording to the Gaza-based health ministry, more than 14,000 Palestinians, including at least 5,600 children, have been killed and more than 33,000 others injured in the Israeli strikes since October 7.
\nTel Aviv has also imposed a \u201ccomplete siege\u201d on Gaza, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
\nMs. Sarandon encouraged attendees to \u201cbe strong, be patient, be clear and stand with anybody who has the courage to speak out\u201d and thanked \u201cthe Jewish community who\u2019s come out to have our backs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW YORK Nov 24 : Hollywood companies have dropped Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and another star Melissa Barrera over their pro-Palestine views and for opposing Israel\u2019s deadly bombardment of the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to US media reports. The United Talent Agency dropped Ms. Sarandon after she made remarks at a rally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-370073","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n