Sarandon Says Agencies Still Blacklist Her Over Gaza

Sarandon argued the public has moved even as the industry has not. "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," she said. "That has been a major revelation for people. How much money the United States gives to Israel, nobody really understood that."

She said the resistance is concentrated at the top of the business. "If it is a major studio, I think it's not just with me but with other people who have been told that that is impossible," she told reporters, per Reuters.

She named names in one direction only — her director's. Sarandon said Pallaoro was warned not to work with her and cast her anyway: "I thank Andrea for that, because he doesn't listen to the warnings," she said, according to Variety.

She also framed the holdouts explicitly: "There has been a change in terms of the general public, but there are still positions in my industry that are held by Zionists who have not relaxed their feelings towards me," she said, per Variety. The Times of Israel headlined its account of the remarks on her blaming "Zionists."

Reuters noted that U.S. opinion polling has shown support for Israel softening and sympathy for Palestinians rising since the war began in 2023.