Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon has apologized after sharing a tweet that compared New York Police Department officers remembering a slain comrade to “fascists.”
Sarandon, 75, shared an apology on her Instagram story and Twitter accounts Friday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The “Thelma & Louise” actress stated that she “deeply” regretted “the meme I recently shared on Twitter that included a photo of Officer Jason Rivera’s funeral.”
“I deeply regret the meme I recently shared on Twitter that included Officer Jason Rivera’s funeral,” tweeted Sarandon, who won an Oscar for best actress in the 1995 movie “Dead Man Walking.” “I reacted quickly to the picture without connecting it to a police funeral and I realize now how insensitive and deeply disrespectful it was to make that point at that time. I sincerely apologize to the family of Officers Rivera and (Wilbert) Mora for causing additional pain during their time of grieving.”
The apology came after Sarandon shared a since-deleted social media post on Tuesday, which captured a tweeted photo from last Friday’s funeral service for Rivera, People reported. The tweet, posted by podcaster Danny Haiphong, featured a photograph of thousands of police officers lined up outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Above the photo, a caption in the original tweet read, “I’m gonna tell my kids this is what fascism looks like.”
When Sarandon shared the screenshot, she included an additional caption that stated, “So, if all these cops aren’t needed for crime that day, doesn’t that mean they aren’t needed any day?” according to People.
Rivera and Mora died after they were shot while responding to a domestic disturbance call on Jan. 21, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Mora’s funeral was held in New York on Wednesday, according to the website.
On Wednesday, the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York condemned Sarandon’s post, tweeting, “This is what privilege looks like: a wealthy actress, safe in her bubble, mocking heroes & making light of the crisis that cops are battling alongside our communities. NYC is uniting to stop the violence — @SusanSarandon is living on a different planet.”