Hollywood Star Arrested at State Capitol Building

Hollywood Star Arrested at State Capitol Building

(NewsReady.com) – Susan Sarandon is no stranger to activism. The progressive actress is often seen at demonstrations for causes that are important to her. Recently, she attended a protest in New York and ended up in handcuffs.

On Monday, May 8, Sarandon traveled to Albany to participate in a minimum page protest for restaurant workers. The New York State Police told the media that officers arrested eight protesters who were involved with the One Fair Wage demonstration after they began “sitting and obstructing walking traffic” in the Capitol Building’s legislative lobby. Videos of the protest showed the “Thelma & Louise” actress being led away in handcuffs.

Protesters were asking state lawmakers to raise the minimum wage of a tipped worker to $17 per hour. The majority of the protesters were working moms and women of color. A local CBS affiliate reported One Fair Wage President Saru Jayaraman said the occupation with the highest rate of single moms is waitressing. She explained, “These are mostly waitresses trying to feed their children on tips.”

Sarandon, a native of the Empire State, spoke at the event before her arrest, telling those in attendance that she has been a single mother and worked in the industry for tips. She said she knows “how difficult it is” and knows “how important it is.” The actress went on to say the women who work with the customers every day are “very, very important.”

The minimum wage demonstration isn’t the only one Sarandon has participated in lately. On May 4, she joined the picket line outside of Netflix’s New York City offices to protest with the striking Writers Guild of America. She spoke to reporters at that event and said she is a “union person, so she supports every union,” and made it clear that she’s standing behind her colleagues in the industry because “without writers, we don’t have anything.”

In 2018, police arrested Sarandon and hundreds of others while they were protesting former President Donald Trump’s family separation policy at the border.

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