From Red Carpets to Zip Ties: Inside the Celebrity Protest That Shook the UN
New York City saw an unusual scene on September 24, 2026. Actors walked out of their trailers and into handcuffs. Comedians traded punchlines for protest signs. And by the end of the day, more than 100 people sat in police custody — not for anything involving Hollywood, but for blocking traffic near the United Nations.
The reason? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was about to take the podium.
What Happened Outside the UN
The demonstration formed on First Avenue, just blocks from UN headquarters, hours before Netanyahu’s scheduled address to the 81st General Assembly. Jewish Voice for Peace, the organization behind the sit-in, wanted the world to look away from diplomacy for a moment and toward Gaza instead.
Protesters didn’t just hold signs. They sat down in the street near 39th Street and refused to move, snarling traffic in one of Manhattan’s busiest corridors.
Their message was simple and loud:
- “Stop arming Israel”
- “End the genocide”
- “Fund people not bombs”
Police eventually zip-tied hands and loaded demonstrators onto NYPD buses. It was orderly, by most accounts — but it wasn’t quiet.
Who Got Swept Up
This wasn’t a random crowd. Some famous names ended up in the mix, which is exactly why the story traveled so fast.
Among those detained:
- Susan Sarandon — Oscar-winning actress and longtime activist
- Hannah Einbinder — Emmy-nominated star of Hacks
- Caleb Hearon — comedian and actor
- Glennon Doyle — bestselling author
- Chelsea Manning — former Army intelligence analyst
- Darializa Avila Chevalier — New York congressional candidate
Other well-known faces showed up but weren’t taken into custody. Playwright Tony Kushner, photographer Nan Goldin, and poet Eileen Myles were spotted at the scene. Actress Cynthia Nixon attended too, though her representatives later clarified she hadn’t planned to get arrested — and, despite some early reports, she wasn’t detained.
Susan Sarandon’s Long Road of Activism
For Sarandon, this arrest wasn’t a first. It wasn’t even close.
She’s been detained before — outside a 2018 immigration protest on Capitol Hill, at a 2024 pro-Palestinian demonstration that shut down New York bridges, and during protests at Columbia University that same year. That Columbia moment came just months after her talent agency, UTA, dropped her as a client following remarks she made at a rally in November 2023.
That’s the part of her story that rarely makes headlines: the career cost.
Speaking to reporters at the Venice Film Festival not long before her latest arrest, Sarandon admitted the toll has been real. She said agencies have quietly steered work away from her because of her stance on Palestine. Then came a line that captured why she keeps showing up anyway: “I found my family, I found my people, and I’m OK.”
At 79, Sarandon isn’t slowing down. If anything, the arrests have become part of her public identity — proof, to her supporters, that conviction can outlast a career built on being liked by everyone.
Hannah Einbinder and Caleb Hearon Speak Out
Einbinder didn’t wait long to address her own arrest. Raised in a Reform Jewish household, she’s been outspoken about Palestinian rights for years — including a recent defense of actor Mark Ruffalo after he faced antisemitism accusations from a studio over his stance on the war.
After her release, she turned to Instagram with a message aimed squarely at the cameras following her: “Let us not mistake the spectacle for the story.” Her point was clear. She didn’t want her face to become the headline. She wanted Gaza to stay the headline.
Hearon’s response was shorter and simpler. He posted once he was out, thanking the organizers who ran the protest and made sure people were supported after their release.
Neither actor treated the arrest like a badge of honor. Both redirected attention back to the war itself.
Netanyahu’s Defiant Speech
While protesters sat in zip ties outside, Netanyahu walked into a half-empty chamber. Hundreds of diplomats stood and walked out the moment he reached the podium — a visible, coordinated rebuke.
He didn’t flinch. Instead, he goaded the departing delegates, calling out “moral cowards” who hadn’t yet left the hall.
From there, his speech turned combative on multiple fronts. He defended Israel’s strikes on Iran, dismissed genocide accusations against Israel’s conduct in Gaza as one of the biggest falsehoods of the era, and leaned on family history — recalling his late brother Yoni’s role in the 1976 Entebbe rescue operation — to frame Israel’s current war as one of survival, not choice.
He also took aim at New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, along with Qatar and Turkey, while praising former President Donald Trump’s support.
The speech landed at a tense moment for Netanyahu personally. He’s heading into Israeli elections next month, and this UN address doubled as a pitch to voters back home as much as a message to the world.
Why This Moment Matters
Strip away the celebrity names, and the story is still worth watching. Protest, arrest, and international diplomacy collided in real time on a single New York afternoon — and each piece reflects a larger, ongoing fight over how the world responds to the war in Gaza.
- For protesters, the arrests were a calculated risk — a way to force cameras toward a cause they feel gets buried under diplomatic language.
- For Netanyahu, the walkout and the protests outside became part of the same story: a leader increasingly isolated on the world stage, doubling down rather than backing off.
- For the celebrities involved, the moment reopened a familiar question — does fame amplify a cause, or does it distract from one? Einbinder’s own words suggest she’s wrestling with that tension herself.
None of this resolves the war. But it does show how far the fight has traveled — from negotiating tables inside the UN to sidewalks just outside its doors.
Sources
- Hollywood Reporter — “Susan Sarandon, Hannah Einbinder Arrested in Netanyahu Protest”
- PinkNews — “Susan Sarandon, Hannah Einbinder and Caleb Hearon detained outside UN after protesting Netanyahu”
- CNN — “Susan Sarandon, Hannah Einbinder among more than 100 detained during anti-Netanyahu protest outside UN”
- ABC17NEWS (CNN Wire) — “Susan Sarandon, Hannah Einbinder among more than 100 detained during anti-Netanyahu protest outside UN”
- Variety — “Hannah Einbinder and Susan Sarandon Detained by Police While Protesting Benjamin Netanyahu’s Speech at the U.N.”
- NBC News — “Israel’s Netanyahu takes the U.N. stage facing global isolation and a fight for his political future”
- PBS News — “WATCH: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addresses 2026 UN General Assembly”
- UN News — “Israeli leader at UN: ‘We’re going to win. We have no other choice'”
- Al Jazeera — “Israel’s Netanyahu set to address UN General Assembly”
- Jerusalem Post — “Benjamin Netanyahu heads to UNGA with limited meetings, anti-Israel protests planned”
- Fox News — “Susan Sarandon joins anti-Israel protest at Columbia University months after being dropped by talent agency”
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