Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef And More Call SAG-AFTRA To Protect Pro-Palestine Actors Against Blacklisting (image @MarkRuffalo)
Members of SAG-AFTRA, including actors Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Susan Sarandon, Melissa Barrera and Cynthia Nixon signed an open letter, calling for their organisation’s leadership to keep people from being blacklisted for their views on Palestine.
In a statement provided with the open letter from the organisation and its sister organisation, Guild Members for Ceasefire, the members claim their numerous attempts to communicate with leadership about their concerns and work on a ceasefire statement together have been consistently ignored.
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The organisation declined to comment on Hollywood Reporter’s request to comment on the matter.
Right after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, the SAG-AFTRA released a statement on October 13th. The organisation stated it “deplores and condemns the horrific acts of aggression against the Israeli people.”
However, after watching the horrific unfolding of Israel’s brutal conduct of war on Gaza, an open letter signed by more than 700 members of different union addressed SAG-AFTRA’s statement. The letter said that since the release of its statement, “Many SAG-AFTRA and sister guild members have watched in horror as the Israeli government wages a war of collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza — killing over 40,000 Palestinians, injuring over 90,000 more, forcibly displacing 2 million people, and openly targeting members of the press and their families.”
The letter stated that as the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) continues its assault on ‘safe zones,’ schools, and hospitals, and as civilians in Gaza die from starvation, dehydration, and lack of medical supplies and fuel, major human rights groups have labelled these acts as war crimes, human rights atrocities, and even genocide. The letter highlighted that the United Nations has described Gaza as a ‘graveyard for children.’
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The signatories of the letter demanded the organisation president Fran Drescher and other guild leaders to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and protect members from being blacklisted for their pro-Palestine views. It also demanded to condemn the violation against journalists.
Some of the guild members and celebrities who have publicly advocated for a ceasefire claim they have faced blacklisting, job loss and harassment for their views. One West Coast actor, who remained anonymous for fear of retaliation, said that they and their representatives were the targets of a coordinated harassment campaign, as per the report.
