Unlike her character at the end of Thelma & Louise, Susan Sarandon had no intention of throwing herself into the void. But after speaking at a Gaza ceasefire rally in New York on November 17, the American actress fell hard. "There are a lot of people that are afraid, afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence," she said, eliciting shock. "This phrasing was a terrible mistake," she later said, reiterating that Jewish people are victims of persecution. It was too late. Her agency, the very powerful United Talent Agency, announced that it would no longer represent her.

Since the massacre perpetrated by Hamas, Hollywood has been torn apart. As early as October 7, many celebrities shared their horror on social media, starting with Israeli actress Gal Gadot, known for her role as Wonder Woman.

"I stand with Israel you should too," she said on Instagram to her 109 million followers before signing an open letter five days later condemning the atrocities committed by Hamas, along with 700 other celebrities (including actor Michael Douglas and comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Amy Schumer).

However, even in traditionally pro-Israel Hollywood, solidarity with Israel weakened as the death toll in Gaza mounted. In the early days of the conflict, Joe Biden had unconditional support for Benjamin Netanyahu's government, but on October 20 another open letter from film stars, including Cate Blanchett and Joaquin Phoenix, urged the American president to work toward a ceasefire. The demand was echoed on the Instagram accounts of numerous celebrities, some of whom, like young actress Melissa Barrera, star of the latest installments of the horror saga Scream, went so far as to accuse Israel of committing "genocide." This inflammatory post earned her an on-the-spot ban from the Scream 7 production.

Another Hollywood figure, though unknown to the general public, has seen her power waver. The influential Maha Dakhil, agent to Tom Cruise, Natalie Portman and Reese Witherspoon, was stripped of her role on the board of Creative Artists Agency (CAA, the biggest in the business) after she too used the word "genocide" on her Instagram account. She quickly deleted the post, thanking, in an apologetic statement, her "Jewish friends and colleagues who pointed out the implications and further educated [her]". According to Variety magazine, she only escaped losing her job thanks to Tom Cruise's intervention, who came in person to CAA's offices to show his support. On the other hand, Aaron Sorkin, creator of the series The West Wing, announced that he was terminating his contract with the agency on learning that Dakhil was staying on.

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