UTA Drops Susan Sarandon for Israel-Hamas Conflict Comments

Susan Sarandon. Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for Pomellato

Susan Sarandon was dropped by the United Talent Agency for her controversial remarks about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

A spokesperson for UTA told the Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, November 21, that the agency was no longer representing Sarandon, 77. The Oscar winner has yet to address the situation. Sarandon and UTA have yet to respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment.

Sarandon made headlines for a speech she gave at a pro-Palestine rally in New York City on Friday, November 17.

“There are a lot of people that are 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 told the crowd according to video obtained by the New York Post.

Journalist Asra Nomani, who is Muslim American, slammed Sarandon’s comments.

“Please don’t minimize the experience of Jewish Americans by sanitizing the hell that it is for Muslims living in Muslim countries and vilifying America for the life — and freedoms — she offers Muslims like my family,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, November 20. “Go, live like a Muslim woman in a Muslim country. You will come back to America and kiss the land beneath your feet.”

Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Before her partnership with UTA was terminated, Sarandon had been with the agency since 2014. She was previously represented by ICM Partners.

Sarandon isn’t the only star who has spoken out about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Several actors, comedians and musicians penned an open letter to President Joe Biden calling for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, which began after the terrorist group Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis in a coordinated attack on October 7. In addition to Sarandon, stars including Drake, Jennifer Lopez, Gigi Hadid, Zayn Malik, Rachel McAdams, Oscar Isaac, Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck, Kristen Stewart, Channing Tatum, Quinta Brunson, Sandra Oh and Joaquin Phoenix signed the petition, according to the Artists 4 Ceasefire website.

“We ask that, as President of the United States, you and the US Congress call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost,” the letter read. “More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.”

The group implored world leaders to “honor all of the lives in the Holy Land” by ending the bombing in Gaza, facilitating “the safe release of all hostages” and allowing humanitarian aid to reach the region urgently.

The letter concluded with celebrities expressing their “pain and mourning” for those affected by the war and the desire to “stop more bloodshed.”