Police detained actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder in New York City on Sept. 24 during protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the U.N. General Assembly.

Photographs of the two actors being led away in handcuffs circulated widely on social media before Netanyahu began speaking, including a post from the X account Land Palestine.

It remains unclear whether Einbinder and Sarandon were arrested or simply detained. Variety has reached out to the NYPD and to the actors' representatives for further information.

Both actors have been outspoken critics of Israeli politics and public supporters of Palestine, and both have said their activism has carried professional costs.

Einbinder addressed the issue directly at Cannes, where she spoke about the risks of speaking out on Palestine. "The cost of not speaking is higher, you know?" she said. "There is a greater toll in not speaking, and you just gotta have your priorities straight. I am under no impression that my one small career could ever measure up in comparison to even one human life. So, you know, it's an obligation and I will always do it."

Sarandon made similar remarks at the Venice Film Festival in September, saying her career has been affected by her advocacy. "I've still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still," she said. "But that's the power structure. I think within the people, certainly internationally, I feel welcome."

The detentions took place as Netanyahu delivered a combative address to the General Assembly. According to The New York Times, he opened by asking delegates who had walked out of the room: "Where were you when the Iranian tyrants butchered and maimed tens of thousands of unarmed Iranian civilians?" Later in the speech, he criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and internet streamer Hasan Piker.

The arrests of two high-profile actors on the day of a U.N. General Assembly speech will keep attention on the professional and legal risks faced by entertainment figures who take public positions on the war — a tension both Sarandon and Einbinder have already said they accept.