Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon was taken into police custody on Thursday alongside fellow performers Hannah Einbinder and Cynthia Nixon during a demonstration near the United Nations headquarters in New York.
The 79-year-old was photographed smiling as NYPD officers placed her in handcuffs, with the Hacks star Einbinder also pictured being led away.
Approximately 100 people were detained in total, according to reports, as protesters gathered on First Avenue close to the UN General Assembly building ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled address.
New York City Council members Chi Osse and Jen Gutierrez, comedian Caleb Hearon, and NY-13 congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier were also among those seen with officers at the scene.
Susan Sarandon was arrested during a demonstration near the United Nations headquarters in New York
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The demonstration kicked off around midday as socialist organisations and Jewish Voice For Peace converged to block traffic near the UN, protesting against the war in Gaza and the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Protesters were heard chanting “free Palestine,” “stop arming Israel” and “let Iran live,” alongside “Netanyahu, you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!”
Officers began fastening zip-ties around demonstrators’ wrists less than an hour after the protest started, following a police dispersal order issued at roughly 12:30pm.
Avila Chevalier told PIX11: “Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. If the police tell us to disperse, I will not be leaving… It’s deeply ironic that the people who will likely be facing arrest today are the people calling for an end to this violence.”
The demonstration kicked off around midday as socialist organisations and Jewish Voice For Peace converged to block traffic near the UN
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Council member Osse told the same outlet: “I’m here because I’m sick and tired of my taxpayer dollars going towards the act of genocide and the murder of Palestinian children, men and women.”
Mr Netanyahu’s address to the General Assembly was met with a mass walkout by delegates, prompting him to brand those who departed “moral cowards.”
“Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,” he declared.
“In fact, I want you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes. It’s hard to imagine more mind-blowing hypocrisy.”
Susan Sarandon has long been vocal in her support for Palestinian rights
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The Israeli prime minister likened the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people, to “16 9/11s” and praised President Donald Trump as Israel’s strongest ally.
Hours before Mr Netanyahu took the podium, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas had accused Israel of pursuing what he described as “a malicious colonial scheme” in Gaza and the West Bank, aimed at displacing Palestinians from their land.
Ms Sarandon has long been vocal in her support for Palestinian rights, a stance that has come at considerable professional cost.
She was dropped by talent agency UTA following remarks at a November 2023 rally in New York, where she said American Jews were “getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country.” She later called the phrasing “a terrible mistake.”
Susan Sarandon arrested along with other celebrities during UN protest over Netanyahu speech
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Speaking at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month, the actress said she continues to lose film roles as a result of her views.
“I’ve still had movies taken away recently, because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still,” she said.
Thursday’s arrest was not Ms Sarandon’s first; she was detained in 2023 at the New York state Capitol during a protest over minimum wage for tipped workers.
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