susan sarandonSusan Sarandon has said she doesn’t mind being publicly attacked for her political views because she thinks it’s important to provoke the discussion.

The actress received death threats after speaking out against the invasion of Iraq in 2003 but told the Independent newspaper recently: “Sometimes I don’t even understand the ramifications of what I say; all I know is that I just can’t live with myself if I don’t say something.

“I’m aware that I’ve become some kind of joke in terms of my activism but it’s not something I can worry about. You have to prioritise.

“And it’s not like my activism is something recent. I come from a generation where, growing up, if you had half a brain in your head and half a heart, you were automatically active.”

She added that she’s hoping Barack Obama will be chosen to run as the Democratic candidate in the 2008 US election because she’s “not sure” about Hillary Clinton: “I’ve been on the road with John Edwards and now I’m supporting Obama. There’s no reason why a woman shouldn’t be in that office, but I’m not sure about this woman.

“It’s insulting to assume that because you’re a woman or a person of colour, you would automatically back any woman or a person of colour. It’s a little more complicated than that.”