Susan Sarandon says she’s been essentially blacklisted from Hollywood, specifically over her statements about the conflict in Gaza. This is per Variety, reporting on statements that Sarandon—who was notably dropped by her representation back in 2023, after she appeared at pro-Palestine events and called for a ceasefire in Gaza—made while receiving an award from the Spanish Film Academy this week. Saying “It became impossible for me to even be on television” in the States, the Oscar winner added, “Right now, I kind of specialize in tiny films with directors who have never directed, in independent films.”
Although Sarandon did have a number of films come out in 2024, most of them were small roles presumably filmed earlier; her only appearance in 2025 was in a co-starring role in Netflix comedy Nonnas, which was filmed in the summer of 2023. In Spain to accept an International Goya award as a lifetime achievement prize, Sarandon praised the country for its support of Gaza in the years since the October 7, 2023 attacks spurred a new round of conflict in the region. (She also namechecked actor Javier Bardem, who has been a vocal supporter of Gaza, including lending his name to projects like a recent petition calling for a boycott of Israeli film institutions.) “In a place where you feel repression and censorship,” Sarandon said, “To see Spain and to see the president and what he says and the support that he’s giving about Gaza, and to have actors like Javier Bardem come forward with such a strong voice, is so important to us in the United States.”
Sarandon previously spoke up in 2024 about how she had “lost work” over her comments—which included a statement in which she said Jewish people were “getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country” that she later apologized for—on the violence in Gaza. Speaking this week, she noted that “I don’t know lately if it’s changed. I couldn’t do any major film or anything connected with Hollywood. I found agents ultimately in England and in Italy, and I work there. I just did a film in Italy, and I did a play at the Old Vic for a number of months. I know this Italian director that just hired me—he was told not to hire me, so that’s still recently. He didn’t listen, but they had that conversation.”
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