Susan Sarandon kept her distance during a recent New York City outing, appearing to brush off an animal rights volunteer just months after claiming she was blacklisted in Hollywood over her pro-Palestine remarks.

The 78-year-old Oscar winner was spotted briskly walking through the Big Apple on Friday when she came face-to-face with a fundraiser for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). 

Rather than engage, Sarandon made a few animated gestures, leaving the volunteer looking uncertain.

Dressed in a bold mix of pieces — including a black embroidered leather jacket, red cardigan, and purple sneakers — the Rocky Horror Picture Show icon briefly paused before confidently moving on.  

The sighting comes on the heels of Sarandon’s ongoing fallout with Hollywood. 

In November 2023, she was dropped by United Talent Agency after making incendiary comments at a pro-Palestine rally in New York. 

Susan Sarandon kept her distance during a recent New York City outing, appearing to brush off an animal rights volunteer just months after claiming she was blacklisted in Hollywood over her pro-Palestine remarks 

The 78-year-old Oscar winner was spotted briskly walking through the Big Apple on Friday when she came face-to-face with a fundraiser for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

During the event, she stated that Jewish people ‘are getting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim’ amid the war with Hamas.

Sarandon later accused the agency of ‘sensationalizing’ its decision to cut ties with her, claiming she had been effectively blacklisted for her views.

The star claimed to Variety her former representatives had ‘rushed’ to a news site to make the announcement, saying: ‘I don’t know how Nancy Gates and Shani Rosenzweig, friends and representatives for 10 years, came to the decisions to drop me.

Read More Susan Sarandon accuses United Talent Agency of ‘sensationalizing’ decision to drop her

‘Nancy informed me she was a Zionist as an explanation. I’ve been politically active my entire life so for them to rush to Page Six at this particular time to make the announcement shows the intention of sensationalizing their decision. I believe everyone has a right to boycott. It’s one of the few useful tools voiceless populations have.

The unrepentant star added: ‘I have lost work. I have lost friends and family, but I have also gained inspiration from those who care enough about humanity and believe enough in the possibility of a better world to raise their voices to stop genocide. 

‘I’m grateful for my new empathic, brave friends and family. I abhor violence against any population. Just as large of a threat is the crushing of our First Amendment rights. That is what makes fascism possible. No one is free until all of us are free.’

UTA – which is run by Jewish CEO Jeremy Zimmer – has never publicly stated why they axed Sarandon.

Sarandon has been vocal in her support for Palestine, and present at several rallies calling for a ceasefire in Gaza since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Rather than engage, Sarandon made a few animated gestures, leaving the volunteer looking uncertain

Dressed in a bold mix of pieces — including a black embroidered leather jacket, red cardigan, and purple sneakers — the Rocky Horror Picture Show icon briefly paused before confidently moving on

She then apologized for her remarks, saying that she had not planned to speak at the rally, but had been invited to address the crowd, and had intended to ‘highlight the urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza’.

In an interview with The Times Sarandon reflected on how the controversy led to the departure of her agent and how she is no longer able to star in mainstream studio films. 

She told the publication: ‘I was dropped by my agency, my projects were pulled. I’ve been used as an example of what not to do if you want to continue to work.

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‘There are so many people out of work right now since November of last year… who have lost their jobs as custodians, as writers, as painters, as people working in the cafeteria, subsтιтute teachers who have been fired because they tweeted something, or liked a tweet, or asked for a ceasefire.’

Asked if she would ever be offered a big film role again she replied: ‘I don’t know. Not anything in Hollywood.’ 

Back in July 2024, Susan apologized for her remarks, saying her ‘phrasing was a terrible mistake’ while covering the latest issue of Elle Spain.

She also reiterated her desire to end the ‘genocide’ in Gaza, saying she had long been motivated to stand against injustice.

Covering the magazine, the actress explained that her position has a famous actress is a ‘loudspeaker’ allowing her to bring visibility to social issues.

In November 2023 Oscar-winner Sarandon, 78, was axed by United Talent Agency, who had represented her for a decade – after she claimed Jewish people ‘are getting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim’ amid the war with Hamas at a rally in New York City – pictured

Accepting that by speaking out she has ensured her blacklisting by a large part of the industry, Susan insisted that everyone had to come together to stop Israelis and Palestinians dying, because ‘no one deserves to die this way.’

She said: ‘Injustice has always hurt and angered me. I grew up in Washington in the 60s, with the Vietnam War hovering over that time and ᴀssᴀssinations like Kennedy or Martin Luther King Jr. overshadowing our culture.

Susan has previously protested for the visibility of AIDS, to end the war in Iraq and against gun violence, even being arrested.

In June 2018, she was arrested during the Women Disobey protests for speaking out against Donald Trump’s controversial migrant policy, which led to the separation of children from their parents.

Her most recent arrest occurred on May 8, 2023, at the New York State Capitol in Albany. 

Sarandon was protesting for higher minimum wages for tipped restaurant workers as president of the advocacy group One Fair Wage. 

She was one of eight activists charged with disorderly conduct after blocking pedestrian traffic in the Capitol’s lobby.