Susan Sarandon once again managed to alienate both Democrats and Republicans with an extremely eyebrow-raising tweet that somehow made the comparison between a funeral procession for an NYPD officer to, uh, fascism.
Police were escorting a hearse down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue containing the body of fallen officer Jason Rivera. The 22-year-old was killed in the line of duty on the evening of Jan. 21 along with his fellow officer, Wilbert Mora, 27, while responding to a report of domestic violence in Harlem.
Sarandon shared a screenshot of a tweet from far-left podcaster Danny Haiphong, which showed an image of the procession with the caption: “I’m gonna tell my kids this is what fascism looks like.” The 75-year-old likewise added her own color commentary: “So, if all these cops weren’t needed for CRIME that day, doesn’t that mean they aren’t needed ANY day?”
Police scrutiny reached an all-time high in 2020 in the wake of the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, which helped fuel the already burgeoning Black Lives Matter movement and rhetoric such as ACAB (all cops are bastards) and Defund the Police.
And that’s all well and good! These are important conversations to have, and it was past due that we as a society tackled important issues such as police and prison reform. But there’s a time and a place, and to quote another phrase that was popular around 2020: This ain’t it, chief.
So in the wake of Sarandon’s problematic tweet, plenty on the left were quick to distances themselves from the actress — who clearly does not speak for all, or even most Democrats.
Jon Cooper, former campaign and finance chair for Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, tweeted unequivocally that Sarandon is a “horrible person.”
“Friendly reminder that, regardless of anything that happens during her lifetime, Susan Sarandon will still be a multimillionaire who never has to worry about a god damn thing,” tweeted the Volatile Mermaid Twitter account.
“As if she hasn’t done enough damage!” huffed Atlantic contributing editor Norman Ornstein.
CNN Political Analyst Joe Lockheart suggested that maybe Sarandon is one of those “false flag” bad actors who some Republicans have since blamed for the storming of the U.S. Capitol.
Political commentator Sarah Reese Jones took the time to remind folks that Republicans are the ones who actually vote to defund police.
Author John Pavlovitz simply used one of Sarandon’s own GIFs against her:
In the end, it’s highly unlikely that any amount of blowback will curtail Sarandon’s proclivity for tweeting bad takes. In fact, if anything, the backlash probably helps fuel her, as is common when it comes to internet trolls. But if it helps to put into perspective, it seems clear that Sarandon speaks for very few of us, regardless of which side of the aisle we sit on.
