Celebrities who faced consequences for public support of Palestinians

A number of celebrities have paid a heavy price for speaking out in favor of Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, including Oscar winner Susan Sarandon and Scream star Melissa Barrera.

Many big names have taken sides in the conflict and stated strong views publicly, inevitably causing controversy and drawing heavy criticism from people with opposing views. Even those who have stayed silent have faced censure on social media.

Hamas launched a huge surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, leading to more than 1,200 deaths and taking more than 200 hostages back to the Gaza Strip. Israel responded by declaring war on Hamas, launching airstrikes and a ground invasion. More than 14,000 people have since been killed in Gaza, with many more injured and hundreds of thousands displaced, according to the Associated Press.

Those who speak out on social media or at protests appear to be at risk of losing work and fans in the world of cancel culture. From being dropped from movies or by their agents, here’s a list of high profile people who have already faced consequences for being pro-Palestinian.

Melissa Barrera

The Vida actress was fired from the Scream horror film franchise for sharing posts on her Instagram account that were largely calling for a ceasefire. She also reposted an article that accused Israel of committing “genocide” in its strikes on Gaza.

Spyglass Media Group produces the Scream films and claimed some of her posts had been interpreted as antisemitic.

“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech,” a Spyglass representative told Variety on Tuesday.

Susan Sarandon

The Academy Award winner was dropped from her talent agency after her comments at a recent pro-Palestinian rally in New York City.

United Talent Agency (UTA) confirmed to Newsweek it had cut ties with Sarandon.

“There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country,” Sarandon was quoted as saying by Deadline.

Sarandon also shared a number of posts to her social media about the war.

“You don’t have to be Palestinian to care about what’s happening in Gaza,” she wrote alongside the snap with members of the Palestinian Feminist Collective at the #March4Palestine protest in Washington, D.C. in early November. “I stand with Palestine. No one is free until everyone is free.”

John Cusack

The actor claimed to be shadow banned on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. His account does not appear in searches when looking for on the site.

“Hey since I’m being shadow banned by me free speech – spread around if you agree,” he wrote on X, reposting another tweet of his.

That tweet read: “The ultimate hope in the midst of this unspeakable, paralyzing horror – so uncharacteristically out in the open, so unmasked, is that million of Jews, Christian, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists stand together and refuse the bait; which is to seek a biblical justification for its crimes against humanity. The world revolts. Millions refuse to accept the immoral choice offered to them by political leaders who would make the price of safety of one people, the extinction of another.”

Mia Khalifa

The former adult film star saw Playboy end its podcasting deal with her after she referred to Hamas as “freedom fighters” on social media, while magic mushroom brand Red Light Holland dropped Khalifa as an adviser.

“Can someone please tell the freedom fighters in Palestine to flip their phones and film horizontal,” the 30-year-old wrote soon after Hamas’ attacks on X.

She later apologized for the post, arguing she was in “no way shape or form is [inciting] spread of violence.”

“I specifically said freedom fighters because that’s what the Palestinian citizens are… fighting for freedom every day.”

Maha Dakhil

A top agent at CAA, Dakhil was booted out from her role as co-chief of the motion pictures department at the company, but allowed to stay on as an agent over Instagram posts.

“What’s more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide? Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening,” she wrote on Instagram.

Dakhil’s biggest client, Tom Cruise, went in to bat for his agent and let CAA know he was backing her. He even had a meeting with her at her CAA office in person to let it be know she had his full support, as per Variety.

Jackson Frank

A sports writer for Philadelphia local news outlet PhillyVoice, Frank was removed for his reply to a statement by NBA team the Philadelphia 76ers.

The team’s statement read: “We stand with the people of Israel and join them in mourning the hundreds of innocent lives lost to terrorism at the hands of Hamas.”

To which Frank replied: “This post sucks! Solidarity with Palestine always.”

PhillyVoice CEO Hal Donnelly told The New York Post in a statement on October 9 that Frank’s employment with the outlet had been ended that day.

Michael Eisen

The editor-in-chief of life sciences academic journal eLife was also fired over posts on social media.

He replied to a post on X from satirical news site The Onion, with the headline: “Dying Gazans Criticized For Not Using Last Words To Condemn Hamas.”

“The Onion speaks with more courage, insight and moral clarity than the leaders of every academic institution put together. I wish there were a The Onion university,” Eisen replied in October.

“Every sane person on Earth is horrified and traumatized by what Hamas did and wants it to never happen again,” he added. “But I am also horrified by the collective punishment already being meted out on Gazans, and the worse that is about to come.”

eLife’s board of directors then confirmed it planned to replace Eisen as editor.

“Mike has been given clear feedback from the board that his approach to leadership, communication and social media has at key times been detrimental to the cohesion of the community we are trying to build and hence to eLife’s mission,” the statement read. “It is against this background that a further incidence of this behavior has contributed to the board’s decision.”

Steve Bell

The Guardian newspaper decided not to renew the contract of its long-running cartoonist after he complained publicly that the paper refused to publish an illustration of his depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cutting a square of his stomach out with a scalpel in the shape of Gaza.

Bell claimed the paper thought it was a reference to the antisemitic trope in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in which a Jewish character demands a “pound of flesh,” representing the supposed cruelty of Jews, but he denied it.

David Velasco

The editor in chief of Artforum got the support of high profile artists such as U.S. photographer Nan Goldin, after he was fired for publishing an open letter in response to the war calling for a ceasefire and “Palestinian liberation.”

Goldin, who is Jewish, told The Times she had “never lived through a more chilling period.”

“People are being blacklisted. People are losing their jobs,” she said.

A number of editors resigned over Velasco’s firing, including Zack Hatfield.

“David Velasco’s firing is unacceptable and bodes ominously for the future of the magazine,” Hatfield wrote on X.

Velasco stood firm in his decision.

“I have no regrets,” Velasco wrote in an email to the New York Times. “I’m disappointed that a magazine that has always stood for freedom of speech and the voices of artists has bent to outside pressure.”