Merve Aydogan
28 February 2026•Update: 02 March 2026
HAMILTON, Canada
Susan Sarandon said Friday that she was blocked from television and film work after “speaking out” about the situation in the Gaza Strip.
The award-winning American actress described the professional fallout she faced after she stood up against the atrocities happening in Gaza since October 2023.
"In the very first November, I was fired by my agency, specifically for marching and speaking out about Gaza for asking for a ceasefire," she said at the Spanish Film Academy's 2026 International Goya in Madrid, stressing that "it became impossible for me to even be on television."
She said that she eventually found opportunities "ultimately in England and in Italy."
"I have worked there. I just did a film in Italy, and I did a play at the Old Vic for a number of months."
She said some in the industry were warned not to hire her, “but I know that you know this Italian director that just hired me; he was told not to hire me, so that's still recently, he didn't listen.”
Since a ceasefire agreement took effect last October between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, Israel has killed 618 Palestinians and wounded 1,663 in daily ceasefire violations involving strikes and gunfire.
The ceasefire followed the genocidal war launched by Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, that lasted two years and killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and wounded over 171,000, most of them women and children, and destroyed about 90% of civilian infrastructure in the territory.
