Sarandon is known for her active support of
progressive and
left-wing political causes, ranging from donations to organizations such as
EMILY's List to participating in a 1983 delegation to Nicaragua sponsored by
MADRE, an organization that promotes "
social, environmental, and
economic justice". In 1999, she was appointed
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In that capacity, she has actively supported the organization's global advocacy, as well as the work of the Canadian
UNICEF Committee. In 2006, she was one of eight women selected to carry in the
Olympic flag at the
Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, in
Turin, Italy. The same year, Sarandon received the
Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award. Sarandon was appointed an
FAO Goodwill Ambassador in 2010. She donated fruit trees to the
New York City Housing Authority's Jamaica Houses in 2018 in the borough of
Queens. Sarandon visited the housing complex in person to help plant the trees. In May 2024, she urged Irish voters to re-elect
Mick Wallace and
Clare Daly as MEPs.
Anti-war activism Sarandon and Robbins both took an early stance against the
2003 invasion of Iraq, with Sarandon stating that she was firmly against war as a
pre-emptive strike. Prior to a 2003 protest sponsored by the
United for Peace and Justice coalition, she said that many Americans "do not want to risk their children or the children of
Iraq". Sarandon was one of the first to appear in a series of political ads sponsored by
TrueMajority, an organization established by
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream founder
Ben Cohen. Along with anti-war activist
Cindy Sheehan, Sarandon took part in a 2006
Mother's Day protest, which was sponsored by
Code Pink. In January 2007, she appeared with Robbins and
Jane Fonda at an
anti-war rally in Washington, D.C. in support of a Congressional measure to withdraw U.S. forces from
Iraq.
Presidential politics During the
2000 election, Sarandon supported
Ralph Nader's run for president, serving as a co-chair of the National Steering Committee of Nader 2000. During the
2004 election campaign, she withheld support for Nader's bid, being among several "Nader Raiders" who urged Nader to drop out and his voters offer their support for
Democratic Party candidate
John Kerry. After the 2004 election, Sarandon called for US elections to be monitored by international entities. appear alongside
John Edwards at a presidential campaign rally in 2008 In the
2008 U.S. presidential election, Sarandon and Tim Robbins campaigned for
John Edwards in the
New Hampshire communities of
Hampton,
Bedford, and
Dover. When asked at We Vote '08 Kickoff Party "What would Jesus do this primary season", Sarandon said, "I think Jesus would be very supportive of John Edwards." She later endorsed
Barack Obama. In the
2012 U.S. presidential election Sarandon, along with film director
Michael Moore, said that they were not thrilled with Obama's performance but hoped he would be re-elected. In the
2016 United States presidential election, she made public her support for Senator
Bernie Sanders. On March 28, 2016, in an interview on
All In with Chris Hayes, Sarandon indicated that she and other Sanders supporters might not support
Hillary Clinton if Clinton were to be the
Democratic nominee for president. She stated: "You know, some people feel that Donald Trump will bring the revolution immediately. If he gets in, then things will really explode."
Hayes inquired as to whether it would be dangerous to allow Trump to become president, to which she replied: "If you think that it's pragmatic to shore up the status quo right now, then you're not in touch with the status quo". On October 30, 2016, she endorsed
Green Party of the United States presidential candidate
Jill Stein. In an interview with
The Guardian published on November 26, 2017, Sarandon said about Hillary Clinton: "I did think she was very, very dangerous. We would still be fracking, we would be at war" if she were president.
Civil rights In 1995, Sarandon was one of many Hollywood actors, directors and writers interviewed for the documentary
The Celluloid Closet, which explores how Hollywood films have depicted homosexuality. Sarandon and Robbins appeared at the 2000 Shadow Convention in Los Angeles to speak about drug offenders being unduly punished. In 2004, she served on the advisory committee for 2004 Racism Watch, an activist group. Sarandon has become an advocate to end the death penalty and
mass incarceration. She has joined the team of people fighting to save the life of
Richard Glossip, a man on death row in Oklahoma. In May 2015, Sarandon launched a campaign with fundraising platform
Represent.com to sell T-shirts to help finance the documentary
Deep Run, the story of a poor North Carolina teen undergoing a
gender transition.
Since 2011 On March 12, 2011, Sarandon spoke before a crowd in
Madison, Wisconsin protesting Governor
Scott Walker and his Budget Repair Bill. On September 27, 2011, Sarandon spoke to reporters and interested parties at the
Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City. Her use of the word
Nazi to describe
Pope Benedict XVI on October 15, 2011 generated complaints from Roman Catholic authorities and from the
Anti-Defamation League, which called on Sarandon to apologize. Sarandon brought activist
Rosa Clemente to the
75th Golden Globe Awards and participated in a rally against gun violence in June 2018. On June 28, 2018, Sarandon was arrested during the
Women Disobey protests, along with 575 other people, for protesting at the
Hart Senate Office Building where a sit-in was being held against
Donald Trump's
migrant separation policy. On May 27, 2021, Sarandon tweeted in support of the
Palestinian people, in her words, "fighting against the
apartheid government of
Netanyahu", and of the
Israeli people "that they too, will enjoy peace". She expressed support for Palestinian-American model
Bella Hadid "for having the bravery to stand in solidarity with her people". She also co-signed an open letter criticizing Israel for labeling six Palestinian human rights groups as terror organizations, and quoted
Desmond Tutu on the
conflict saying that "true peace can ultimately be built only on justice". Sarandon was the executive producer for
Soufra, a documentary that covered the development of a food truck in the
Bourj el Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in
Beirut, Lebanon. In February 2022, some law enforcement organizations criticized Sarandon for sharing a tweet that described a photo of police officers honoring a killed officer as
fascism. She later deleted the tweet and posted a message on Twitter to apologize.
Gaza war In November 2023, Sarandon spoke out against
the Israeli government's actions during the
Gaza war. At a pro-Palestinian rally in
Union Square on November 17, Sarandon said: "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, so often subjected to violence." Four days later, she was dropped as a client by
United Talent Agency. On December 1, Sarandon issued an apology for the phrasing of her comment, saying that "it implies that until recently Jews have been strangers to persecution, when the opposite is true". On March 12, 2025, Sarandon attended the detention hearing of Palestinian activist and
US permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained by
ICE, and stated her support for the free speech rights of Khalil and all US residents. Following the Israeli thwarting of several attempts to break
its blockade of the Gaza Strip, Sarandon joined the steering committee for the
Global Sumud Flotilla, which was the largest civilian-led aid flotilla to Gaza. It started sailing in August 2025 and was intercepted by Israel on October 2. ==Personal life==