In the news
■ Susan Sarandon apologized last week for saying that Jewish Americans frightened by the rise in antisemitism amid the IsraelHamas war “are getting a taste of how it feels to be Muslim in this country.” The Oscar-winning actress made the comments at a Nov. 17 pro-Palestinian rally in New York City; she was dropped by United Talent Agency soon after. In an Instagram post, Sarandon, 77, called her phrasing “a terrible mistake” because it implied that “Jews have been strangers to persecution, when the opposite is true.” Her intent, the longtime progressive activist said, was “to show solidarity to the struggle against bigotry of all kinds.” At the New York rally, Sarandon also joined in the chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”—a slogan seen by many as an antisemitic call for Israel’s destruction.
■ Felicity Huffman has spoken publicly for the first time about the 2019 college admissions scandal that sent her to federal prison for 11 days, saying she feels “undying shame” for paying a fixer $15,000 to inflate her daughter’s SAT scores. The Desperate Housewives actress told an L.A. TV station that she spent a year working with “highly recommended college counselor” Rick Singer before he said her daughter would not be accepted at any of her first-choice colleges—unless Huffman paid up to falsify the SAT results. “It felt like I would be a bad mother if I didn’t do it,” she said. “So I did it.” Months later, Huffman was arrested by the FBI along with dozens of other wealthy and celebrity parents who’d used Singer to rig their kids’ test scores and athletic reports. Singer is serving a 42-month prison sentence.
■ Kelly Clarkson’s ex-husband has been ordered to pay the pop star $2.6 million for “unlawfully” signing business deals while acting as her manager. A California labor commissioner ruled that Brandon Blackstock, 46, struck agreements that should have been handled by a talent agent, and ordered him to pay back the fees he collected from deals with The Voice, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Wayfair, and more. Blackstock plans to appeal the decision. Kelly, 41, filed for divorce in 2020 after seven years of marriage. Under the terms of their 2022 settlement, she is paying Blackstock $115,000 a month in spousal support until January 2024.