Susan Sarandon Says Roles Are Still Being ‘Taken Away’ from Her Amid Support of Palestine

Susan Sarandon spoke candidly about her politically fraught relationship to Hollywood while at the 2026 Venice Film Festival promoting the film “The Echo Chamber.” The majority Italian production is directed by Andrea Pallaoro and co-stars Luca Marinelli and Alicia Vikander, adapting filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci’s last script he wrote before he died.

“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,” Sarandon said during the film’s press conference. “That has been a major revelation for people, 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. So that has changed in terms of the power structure.”

Sarandon was dropped from her agency, UTA, in 2023 over comments she made at a pro-Palestinian rally. She’s repeatedly called on global leaders to advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza.

She added, “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. 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. I thank Andrea for that because he didn’t listen to the warnings. 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 toward me. But I found my family, I found my people, and I’m OK.”

In “The Echo Chamber,” Sarandon plays a late-in-life legendary singer/songwriter who’s working on a new album with Marinelli’s character — a music producer who falls into a toxic romance with the physician (Vikander) supplying him with opioids.

More to come…