Susan Sarandon told a press conference in Venice on Sunday that she continued to lose big roles due to her public support of Palestine, even if the narrative around the nature of U.S. support of Israel has changed in recent months.
“I’ve still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still. But that’s the power structure. I think within the people, certainly internationally, I feel welcome,” she said in response to a question from Deadline.
“So it depends. If it’s a major studio, I think there is, not just with me but with other people, that have been told that that is impossible in terms of being able to do this film.”
The Oscar-winning actress was speaking at the Venice Film Festival press conference for Andrea Pallaoro’s Golden Lion contender The Echo Chamber, an adaptation of Bernardo Bertolucci’s final screenplay.
She stars as storied songstress Ava who engages engages a music producer (Luca Marinelli) with a history of drug addiction to work on her comeback album, becoming the third wheel in his complex relationship with a physiotherapist (Alicia Vikander), who is her antithesis in her private, quiet approach to life.
“I thank Andrea for that because he didn’t listen to the warnings,” she continued. “So I think yes, 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.”
The Thelma And Louise star, who was dropped by UTA in 2023 after attending several rallies in support of Palestine, has revealed in the past that roles dried up for as a result of her activism.
Her comments come amid a continuing stand-off in Hollywood over the Middle East conflict after Paramount accused Mark Ruffalo of using “antisemitic tropes” in a post criticizing the Paramount-WBD merger, in which he raised concerns over its backer Oracle‘s involvement in supplying technology amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The conflict has also become a hot button topic at Venice, with activists calling on the festival to raise the Palestinian flag in recognition of the Palestinian directors in selection. Festival Artistic Director Alberto Barbera has said this is not possible due to the fact Palestine is not officially recognized as a state by Italy.
Earlier in the press conference, Sarandon said that she felt the wider narrative about Palestine and Israel had shifted in the U.S.
“I think that the narrative has completely changed in terms of the historical relevance of Palestine and the ties of Zionists with America and our politics, that has been a major revelation for people,” she said.
“How much money the United States gives to Israel? Nobody really understood that. And also, now we have voted to combine the army of the United States with the army of Israel. So there’s a lot of things that people are aware of now,” she said
Her comments the combining of the U.S. army with that of Israel were reference to the U.S. House of Representatives approval of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on July 22, Section 219 of which controversially expands U.S.-Israel defense technology cooperation.
Critics claims it effectively merges the U.S. and Israeli militaries, while supporters that is categorically not the case and it rather strengthens a longstanding strategic partnership.
