Actress Susan Sarandon was spotted in New York City on Wednesday after being dumped by her talent agency UTA for her controversial comments about Jews.
Sarandon fueled outrage by claiming at a pro-Palestine protest on November 17 that scared Jews were getting “a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim in America.”
She referred to rising anti-Semitism in the US since the conflict began on October 7.
There was a wave of anger among Jews and also among American Muslims who told her to visit a Muslim country to discover how preferable it is to live in the US.
Sarandon has not responded to any comments. She stepped out today wearing the same bomber jacket and cap she was wearing when she made the comments.
Susan Sarandon spotted in NYC today. She was dropped by her talent agency UTA because of her comments about Jews
Sarandon wore the same bomber jacket with Simpsons characters stitched on it and her name
Sarandon and her companion wore a festive wreath as they walked through the city
Among those who clapped back at Sarandon is Asra Nomani, a Pakistani refugee who responded to Sarandon Tweet with a list of the freedoms she and her parents enjoy in the US.
United Talent Agency cut ties with Sarandon yesterday. The company’s Jewish CEO, Jeremy Zimmer, is pictured
Nomani shared a photo of herself with her parents and said, “Hi Susan Sarandon, this is my mom, my dad and I on the trail in Morgantown, West by God Virginia. Let me tell you what it means to be Muslim in America.
“My father did not have to become a second-class indentured servant to one of the many tyrants of Muslim countries who use immigrants from India, like my family, as essential slaves… my father got a job as an assistant professor of nutrition.
“He was rejected at first because of his tenure, but because he was a Muslim in America, he was given a right like everyone else: his right to appeal and guess what? He won and became a professor.
‘My mother? Being a Muslim in America meant she could live FREELY with the wind in her hair, like Masih Alinejad fighting for women in the Muslim country of Iran to enjoy.”
She went on to describe how she was able to safely and freely give birth to a baby out of wedlock in America – something that would have led to her death in some Muslim countries.
Asra Nomani, a Pakistani refugee, responded to Sarandon on Twitter with a list of the freedoms she and her parents enjoy in the US.
Response: There is growing anger over Sarandon’s comments
‘Where do you think I came to give birth to my baby safely and without shame? West by God Virginia in the United States of America – where we enjoy equal rights as Muslim Americans, not Americans.
“This is a taste of life for a Muslim family in America. Please do not minimize the experience of Jewish Americans by purging the hell that it is for Muslims living in Muslim countries and vilifying America for the life – and freedoms – it provides to Muslims like my family.
‘Go, live as a Muslim woman in a Muslim country. You come back to America and kiss the land beneath your feet,” she said.
Others compared her comments to those of Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War. Fonda was nicknamed ‘Hanoi Jane’ because of her continued condemnation of the US military efforts in Vietnam.
She traveled to the region and posed atop an anti-aircraft gun, something she has since apologized for.
Jane Fonda sitting on an anti-aircraft gun in Vietnam in 1972. She has since apologized for offending the families of American veterans with the photo and her comments about the war
‘Now now now. The Vietnam War had Hanoi Jane. It looks like Hamas Gaza will have Susan. She should go visit them,” said one critic.
“Someone please let actress Susan Sarandon know that she can open a good bottle of wine and celebrate another Jewish grandfather’s death by her private pool.
“Hamas, which it proudly supports, has just announced that one of the hundreds of innocent Israelis it kidnapped – 86-year-old Aryeh Zalmanovich – has been murdered in captivity.
‘Do you like this Susan? Does this fill your heart with joy?’ said another.
There has been a sharp increase in both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the US since the October 7 attack and subsequent conflict.
The vast majority of public protests in major cities like New York were pro-Palestine, with some participants holding up anti-Semitic signs calling on people to “cleanse the world of Jews.”
At a neo-Nazi rally in Wisconsin this weekend, participants held up huge swastika flags.
There have been grotesque cases of Islamophobia, including the murder of a six-year-old Muslim boy in his home near Chicago.
His landlord had become paranoid that he and his Palestinian family would ‘come after him’.
Sarandon has yet to respond to the growing backlash to her comments.