‘I realize now how insensitive and deeply disrespectful it was’: Susan Sarandon apologizes for social media post comparing fallen NYPD rookie officer’s funeral to ‘fascism’
- Susan Sarandon, 75, has apologized for a post she made about NYPD officer Jason Rivera’s funeral comparing it to ‘fascism’ and calling it ‘insensitive’
- Sarandon said she regrets sharing the post and offered her condolences to the family of Rivera and his partner Wilbert Mora
- Both Rivera and Mora were killed in East Harlem in January 21 when responding to a call over a domestic dispute between a mother and son
- Sarandon received backlash from both members of the police force as well civilians for her controversial comments
Actress Susan Sarandon has apologized for a social media comment about the funeral of slain NYPD officer where she compared it to ‘fascism’ and called the event ‘insensitive.’
Sarandon, 75, posted a tweet about officer Jason Rivera’s funeral after he was shot and killed in East Harlem on January 21.
Rivera and his partner Wilbert Mora were shot dead after responding to a domestic call which involved a mother and son.
The Oscar-winning actress tweeted a photo of Rivera’s casket being carried through the streets of NYC with the caption: ‘I’m gonna tell my kids this is what fascism looks like.’
She also added: ‘So, if all these cops weren’t needed for CRIME that day, doesn’t that mean they aren’t needed ANY day?’
The hashtag #abolishthepolice was also in the post.
Sarandon offered her apologies on Friday after receiving criticism for her comments.
‘I deeply regret the meme I recently shared on Twitter that included a photo of Officer Jason Rivera’s funeral,’ she said in the post.
‘I reacted quickly to the picture without connecting it to a police funeral and I realize now how insensitive and deeply disrespectful it was to make that point at that time.
‘I sincerely apologize to the family of Officers Rivera and Mora for causing additional pain during their time of grieving.’
Actress Susan Sarandon, 75, has apologized for controversial comments she made about an NYPD officer’s funeral last week
Sarandon had compared the funeral to ‘fascism’ and called it ‘insensitive’ on Twitter
The Oscar-winning actress said she regrets making the post and has apologized to the family or Rivera and his slain partner Wilbert Mora
Jason Rivera 22, who joined the NYPD a little over a year ago, was shot and killed at an East Harlem apartment on January 21
Thousands of officers gather outside the St Patrick’s Cathedral for Rivera’s funeral
Officers carry the casket of Wilbert Mora at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Wednesday
Sarandon received a significant amount of backlash on social media after making the controversial post.
‘People who say “cops don’t prevent crime” have to be some of the most naive people of all time,’ wrote @stevesbromike. ‘Every single city that has defunded their police has seen a sharp rise in almost all crimes. If you don’t think that’s correlated you are literally just stupid.’
‘Honestly, what is wrong with you? Do you have any idea the nightmare that is NYC right now? New Yorkers are terrified by the surge of crime, all because of people like you thinking abolishing the police is would solve anything,’ wrote another user.
‘It [is] the logic of a three-year-old,’ wrote another user. ‘I suggest she does the duties of a cop for a year and then let’s see how fascist she thinks they are. Cops protect little children, rescue those in distress and vulnerable everywhere. All she does it talk for a living.’
The actress, who lived in the Chelsea neighborhood for three decades until 2020, has been historically critical of the NYPD. After she sold her huge pre-war duplex for $7.9 million, the actress told the Wall Street Journal that she intended to stay in the neighborhood and always remain a New Yorker.
In July of this year, Sarandon joined a rally outside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s office calling for ‘Medicare for All,’ saying that she and her fellow leftists are ‘losing hope’ in the progressive lawmaker through a bullhorn and calling for better leadership from ‘The Squad.’
In 2018, Sarandon was arrested alongside 575 other protesters during an demonstration outside the US Senate building against a Trump-era policy that separated migrant children from their parents at the border.
Nearly a decade earlier, she was arrested in March of 1999 outside One Police Plaza after she joined a several-week-long protest after Amadou Diallo, a unarmed street vendor, was shot dead by NYPD cops in the Bronx.
Susan Sarandon, 74, said AOC made ‘a lot of promises,’ but that she still has ‘faith’ in her at a rally in July of 2021
The Academy Award winner, 74, has admitted that her strong views came at a price – leaving her shunned from people in the industry and even receiving death threats
Speaking to Sydney’s Saturday Extra, the actress admitted in 2017 that she wasn’t one to shy away from controversy after expressing her staunchly negative opinion on Hillary Clinton during the last US presidential campaign and having her say on the #MeToo movement in light of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Sarandon, pictured with Thelma and Louise co-star Geena Davis, said that the things she regrets are ‘only things I didn’t say or do’ in an interview about her outspoken activism
However, the Academy Award winner, 71, has admitted that her strong views came at a price – leaving her shunned from people in the industry and even receiving death threats.
‘The things that I regret are only things I didn’t say or do, even though I went through a pretty scary time leading up to Iraq, and I certainly – in not supporting Hillary Clinton – ended up getting an enormous amount of heat about that.
The Thelma and Louise star continued: ‘I just know for all the unkind or hurtful things, or scary things that have happened because of an unpopular stand with the war or whatever, I don’t regret it.’
In 2017, Sarandon announced she was glad Hillary Clinton lost the election because she’s ‘very dangerous’ and America would be ‘at war.’
When former Mayor de Blasio lauded the NYPD for their ‘tremendous restraint overall’ during George Floyd protests, Sarandon tweeted ‘shame on you’ at him. Ultimately, the city Department of Investigation later criticizing cops for their use of excessive force during a number of 2020 protests and de Blasio apologized.
Sarandon isn’t the first person to get backlash over their gripes regarding the funerals – Coney Island Prep math teacher Christopher Flanigan was fired after he posted a photo of the mass of officers, saying that they were in the ‘ideal conditions for reciprocity’ for officers that plowed into George Floyd protesters in 2020.
Christopher Flanigan, who taught math at Coney Island Prep, posted a photo of thousands of officers outside of St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the funeral of Det. Jason Rivera, saying it was the ‘ideal conditions for reciprocity’
Flanigan captioned the now-deleted photo in his Instagram story: ‘5/30/20: NYPD SUV drives into a crowd of protestors. Ideal conditions for reciprocity,’ according to the New York Post.
The now-fired teacher said that his comment was ‘misconstrued.’
‘I was really just trying to show the vulnerability of all of these police officers being in the same place at the same time which seems like a dangerous situation for anyone that would be that gathered together,’ Flanigan told the Post on Sunday.
New York City actress Jacqueline Guzman was let go from Face to Face Films theater company after ranting about street closures during Rivera’s funeral.
In a now-deleted TikTok, Guzman pans over street traffic, showing police cars and ambulances blocking streets.
New York City actress Jacqueline Guzman received backlash for her ‘disrespectful’ comments regarding street closures during NYPD Officer Jason Rivera’s funeral on Friday
‘We do not need to shut down most of Lower Manhattan because one cop died for probably doing his job incorrectly,’ she says in the video.
‘They kill people who are under 22 every single day for no good reason and we don’t shut down the city for them, so.’
Her own company released a statement, calling Guzman’s video ‘insensitive’ and that it does not ‘condone’ her ‘comments made about fallen Officer Rivera.’
Although Guzman’s post drew an incredible amount of ire, some Twitter users still griped about the traffic caused by Mora’s funeral procession.
‘Traffic in midtown is insane today because of the NYPD officer’s funeral,’ wrote @adammc123. ‘Cars are blowing through intersections on red lights. I almost got hit twice & yelled at drivers. Some guy on Broadway was having a MELTDOWN at a truck blocking the intersection. I don’t blame him!’
‘In case anyones having a bad day: I got stuck on 7th ave for two hours because of an NYPD funeral and then my power steering died so I then had to wait for a tow for another two hours while they navigated the same traffic,’ wrote @NEZ2021.
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