Susan Sarandon's New York Arrest Wasn't Her First
In the wake of Susan Sarandon's arrest Monday at the New York State Capitol in Albany, this isn't the first time the actress found herself on the wrong side of the law after protesting. At a sit-in supporting migrants at a US Senate building in 2018, she was one of almost 600 women arrested. In Washington, the police said that 575 people had been charged with unlawfully demonstrating, according to the BBC. In their protest, the women criticized the government's migration policy, including that children were being separated from their parents on the southern border. At the time, the actress, who won an Academy Award for Dead Man Walking in 1996 and starred in 1991's Thelma and Louise, tweeted that she had been arrested. She was also detained in 1999 while protesting the shooting of an unarmed African American teenager by the police.
Sarandon's May 15 arrest occurred while protesting to raise the minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers. The actress, 76, was among eight activists arrested by state police for disorderly conduct on May 8. After being processed and issued appearance tickets, they were released, reported the New York Post.
The actress is the president of One Fair Wage, a group arguing that the minimum wage increase, which excludes tipped service workers, negatively impacts women and single mothers of color. According to the website, the coalition includes "all workers for whom tips are considered wage replacement," such as restaurant workers, nail salon technicians, hairdressers, and massage therapists. Legislators approved a $229 billion spending plan last week, paving the way for a $17 minimum hourly wage. A report in the New York Post stated that the eight protesters sat and blocked walking traffic and were repeatedly asked to move. They refused to leave and asked to be arrested.
On Twitter, Spectrum News 1 Albany reporter Kate Lisa posted a video in which Sarandon and Ana Maria Archila, a former candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York, attempted to spread a pink banner across the concourse during an activist demonstration that took place.
"Police left activists alone for several minutes. Several were confused why they weren't getting arrested," Lisa wrote on Twitter. Sarandon spoke at the rally to show solidarity with the workers before being arrested.
"They are very, very important and need to be treated with dignity, not only for the back-breaking labor that they do, but what they have to do to communicate and understand and be patient and all the things that are linked to a successful business," she said, per New York Post.
In February 2022, Sarandon was criticized for comparing New York City's police officers to fascism in a tweet. She also protested in New York City last week, supporting writers striking in the television and movie industry.