Susan Sarandon Calls Pope a ‘Nazi’
Susan Sarandon is under fire after referring to the German-born Pope Benedict XVI as a Nazi.
The actress made the comment during an interview Saturday with actor Bob Balaban at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Sarandon was discussing her 1995 Oscar-winning film ?Dead Man Walking,? based on an anti-death penalty book by Sister Helen Prejean, when she mentioned that she had sent a copy of the book to the pope.
?The last one,? she clarified, referring to Pope John Paul II. ?Not this Nazi one we have now,? meaning Pope Benedict. Sarandon then repeated the remark.
The Anti-Defamation League condemned Sarandon for her word choice and suggested she apologize to the Catholic community.
?Ms. Sarandon may have her differences with the Catholic Church, but that is no excuse for throwing around Nazi analogies,? ADL National Director Abraham Foxman said Monday in a statement. ?Such words are hateful, vindictive and only serve to diminish the true history and meaning of the Holocaust.?
Pope Benedict was born in Germany in 1927 and has spoken of being forced to join the Hitler Youth by his seminary. He also was later conscripted into the German army at age 16.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
