Celebrities Arrested at Anti Netanyahu Protest in New York
Left 67%
Center 0%
Right 33%
2 left · 0 center · 1 right
What happened
On Thursday, New York police took multiple people into custody, including actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder, after they continued blocking an intersection during a protest outside United Nations headquarters against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he prepared to address the U.N. General Assembly. The demonstration was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace; an NYPD spokesperson said officers responded to an "unscheduled demonstration," issued warnings to leave, and detained those who did not comply. Actor Elliot Page was among other celebrities at the protest. Inside the assembly, dozens of envoys walked out as Netanyahu began his speech. Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and New York City council member Chi Ossé were also reported among those taken into custody.
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- How it developed
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Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
The gap that changes the story is the missing police account of why anyone was taken in. Right-leaning coverage never reports that official explanation, so a reader cannot tell whether the celebrities were seized for protesting or for refusing to clear a street. Left-leaning coverage in the Guardian reports an NYPD spokesperson saying officers warned people at an unscheduled demonstration to leave, then took into custody those who kept blocking the intersection. That sequence does not appear in Breitbart, which shows a blocked road and people led off in cuffs.
The two sides do not even agree on whether an arrest occurred. Left-leaning coverage in the Guardian treats the pair as arrested. Breitbart, citing Variety, says it remains "unclear whether Sarandon and Einbinder were arrested or simply detained."
Were any of the detained celebrities charged, and with what?
Bottom line
You would not learn from Breitbart that the NYPD said it had already warned people to leave a blocked intersection before taking anyone into custody.
The receipts — 4 facts one side's coverage lacks
- NYPD said officers warned participants at an unscheduled demonstration to leave and took into custody those who continued to block the intersection
- Elliot Page and Chelsea Manning were among those blocking a road outside U.N. headquarters
- The demonstration was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace
- Protesters held banners reading Stop Arming Israel and End the Genocide
The Left View
Left-leaning sources framed the police action as breaking up a protest against Netanyahu, citing banners that read "Stop Arming Israel" and "End the Genocide." They emphasized Sarandon’s claim that she was still having movies taken away because agencies tell people not to hire her, and Einbinder’s statements that "the cost of not speaking is higher," that there is "a greater toll in not speaking," and that she is "under no impression that my small career could ever measure up in comparison to even one human life." Coverage also highlighted the walkouts as Netanyahu assailed Britain and France, which have recently moved to recognize the state of Palestine.
The Right View
Right-leaning sources identified transgender actor Elliot Page as among celebrities protesting Netanyahu and cited video showing Chelsea Manning with those blocking a road, while noting Variety’s report that it remained unclear whether Sarandon and Einbinder were arrested or simply detained. They quoted Netanyahu asking, "Where were you when the Iranian tyrants butchered and maimed tens of thousands of unarmed Iranian civilians?" and accusing walkout delegates and those chanting outside of being "phony human rights protesters." Coverage described the demonstration as anti-Israel and situated the Gaza war as having begun after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Our Take (balanced)
The left’s strongest argument is that those taken into custody were protesting U.S. arming of Israel and what their banners called genocide, supported by the Jewish Voice for Peace slogans and by Sarandon’s and Einbinder’s claims of career punishment and a duty that outweighs "even one human life." The right’s strongest argument is that the protest and walkouts are selective, supported by Netanyahu’s "phony human rights protesters" charge, his question about Iranian civilians, and the war’s origin in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack. The central unresolved tension is whether the blockade and celebrity detentions represent accountable dissent over Israeli conduct in Gaza or one-sided disruption that applies human-rights claims unevenly.
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