Since war broke out between Israel and Hamas in October, a number of celebrities have commented on the conflict. Public figures supporting either Israel or Palestinians have received backlash for their comments, but some have faced more severe consequences for their remarks than others.
Yesterday, Susan Sarandon was dropped by her agency, United Talent Agency (UTA), for her comments at a pro-Palestinian rally on Friday, while actress Melissa Barrera was fired from the upcoming Scream VII for comparing the situation in Gaza to a "concentration camp" on Instagram.
However, fans of Sarandon and Barrera are now asking why Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp has yet to be "canceled."
The Jewish American actor recently came under fire for his statement on the conflict—which included the line "You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism"—along with sharing a video featuring stickers that read "Zionism is Sexy" and "Hamas is ISIS" to social media.
On October 7, Hamas launched a shock attack on Israel, killing at least 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages, according to figures from the Associated Press. Israel subsequently fired airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is "at war" and suspended supplies of food, medicine, energy and fuel to Gaza. Some 1.7 million of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been displaced due to fighting, while 12,700 Palestinians have been killed, according to AP.
Although some fans said they would boycott Stranger Things—in which Schnapp plays Will Byers—the 19-year-old is still expected to appear in the upcoming season five. Filming was originally set to begin in May, but was put on-hold due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
"While Susan Surandon and Melissa Berrera were fired, Noah Schnapp is allowed to keep his job(s) despite his disgusting comments. Welcome to Hollywood," said @ThePopTingz on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.
User Wes agreed, writing: "Tell me how the f*** noah schnapp is still on stranger things after putting up stickers that say zionism is sexy, liking blatantly islamophobic videos, etc etc but melissa barrera gets fired for speaking up against genocide."
"Melissa barrera can't publicly call for a cease fire but noah schnapp can run around wearing zionism is sexy pins... hollywood is hell," said @korsyverse.
"If antisemitism is bad, why is islamophobia acceptable?" asked Sara. "Why did melissa barrera and susan sarandon get fired while amy schumer and noah schnapp has no consequences."
"Noah schnapp gets to roam around netflix's halls making millions of dollars after this?" wrote Aaron.
"Saying Noah Schnapp can't lose his job because it's the last season of Stranger Things and he's the main for that season whilst the main lead of SCREAM just got fired for saying genocide is bad, is definitely something," commented @vincereautmcri.
Newsweek has reached out to Noah Schnapp and Melissa Barrera for comment via email and Susan Sarandon via Instagram.
Why Were Susan Sarandon and Melissa Barrera Fired?
On Tuesday, a representative for UTA told Newsweek that the agency had dropped Sarandon.
At a rally on Friday, the 77-year-old actress 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."
The Oscar-winner has attended a number of pro-Palestinian rallies in recent weeks, as well as been sharing her thoughts on the war on social media.
Also on Tuesday, Spyglass—the studio behind the Scream franchise—announced that Barrera had been fired from Scream VII due to her posts about the Israel-Hamas war.
"Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp," the 33-year-old wrote in an Instagram Story post.
"Cornering everyone together, with nowhere to go, no electricity no water ... People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING."
In a statement, Spyglass said: "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."
Other stars to receive cancelation calls for their pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel comments include Lebanese former adult film star Mia Khalifa and Mark Ruffalo, while celebrities to face criticism for supporting Israel include Amy Schumer, Debra Messing and Gal Gadot.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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