Susan Sarandon said at the Venice Film Festival that she is still losing film work because of her support for Palestinians. Speaking at a September 6, 2026 press conference for The Echo Chamber, the actor said she had seen “movies taken away recently” and had heard that agencies were telling people not to hire her.
Sarandon did not identify a recent movie, studio, agency or hiring executive connected to those claims. Reuters and TheWrap reported her remarks from Venice, but the individual employment decisions were not independently verified. That distinction matters because her statement describes what she says is happening; it does not provide a documented list of lost roles.
What did Susan Sarandon say in Venice?
At the press conference, Sarandon said she believes public discussion of Palestine and U.S. support for Israel has changed. She then described continued consequences inside the film business. Her clearest employment claim was that movies had been taken away recently and that agencies were still discouraging people from hiring her.
She also said she felt welcomed by people internationally and thanked director Andrea Pallaoro for casting her in The Echo Chamber. Her comments separated that public reception from what she described as resistance at major studios. The available reports do not establish how many opportunities were affected or when each decision was made.
Did she name any lost roles or agencies?
No. Sarandon did not name the movies she says were withdrawn, the agencies she says contacted employers, or the studios that made recent hiring decisions. She also did not give dates, contract details or written communications that could be checked against specific productions.
A claim about lost work can be newsworthy when made publicly by a well-known actor, but it must remain attributed to the person making it. Nothing in the current reporting supports attaching her allegation to an unnamed production or treating a casting change as evidence without further documentation.
What happened between Sarandon and UTA in 2023?
One earlier professional consequence is documented. In November 2023, United Talent Agency ended its representation of Sarandon after remarks she made at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York. Reports at the time connected the split to her comparison between fear experienced by Jewish people and discrimination experienced by Muslims in the United States.
That agency split provides relevant background, but it should not be used as proof of every later claim. The 2026 remarks refer to unnamed recent movies and agencies. UTA has a documented role in the 2023 event; the sources reviewed for the Venice statement do not say that UTA removed a specific 2026 role.
What did Sarandon apologize for?
Sarandon later apologized for the wording of her 2023 rally statement. She said the comparison was a serious mistake because it wrongly suggested that Jewish people were unfamiliar with persecution. She also said her intention had been to show solidarity with communities facing discrimination, not to reduce or dismiss antisemitism.
The apology is part of the public record and gives readers the full sequence: the rally comment, UTA ending its representation, and her later acknowledgment that the wording caused harm. Her Venice remarks came nearly three years later and described professional effects that she says continued beyond that original agency split.
Why was she speaking at the Venice Film Festival?
Sarandon was in Venice with The Echo Chamber, which the festival selected for the Venezia 83 Competition. She attended the official press conference with the filmmakers and cast. The political comments came during that promotional appearance rather than at a separate campaign event.
Her presence also connected the employment discussion to a current role: Pallaoro cast her in the film, and she publicly thanked him. That fact shows she is working in a new competition title. It does not resolve her separate claim that other work was removed or make those unnamed decisions verifiable.
What is The Echo Chamber?
The Echo Chamber is a 123-minute drama directed by Andrea Pallaoro and produced by Indigo Film with Rai Cinema and Versus Production. La Biennale lists Luca Marinelli, Alicia Vikander and Susan Sarandon as its principal cast. The screenplay is credited to Bernardo Bertolucci, Ilaria Bernardini and Ludovica Rampoldi.
The official synopsis centers on Leo and Anne, whose relationship moves between intimacy, dependence, desire and control while Ava’s voice carries through their shared history. Reuters reported that Sarandon plays an aging singer who hires a music producer recovering from drug addiction to help with a comeback album.
Sarandon’s career includes an Academy Award for Dead Man Walking, confirmed by the Academy’s 1996 ceremony record, as well as roles in Thelma & Louise, Bull Durham and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The Venice appearance placed her employment claim beside a new film rather than announcing a retirement or a complete stop in acting work.
What is confirmed, and what remains an allegation?
Confirmed: Sarandon made the remarks publicly at the Venice press conference; UTA stopped representing her in 2023; she later apologized for the wording of the rally comparison; and The Echo Chamber is in the Venezia 83 Competition with Sarandon in the cast.
Not confirmed: the identities and number of recent roles, agencies or studios involved. The reports relay her account but do not independently verify those employment decisions. New documents or named responses could change that assessment, but the current evidence does not support a broader conclusion.
Readers can find more verified release and festival coverage in Pixel Twelve’s Movies hub. This report will remain tied to what Sarandon said, what earlier records establish and what the official Venice listing confirms.
