Susan Sarandon is back in the spotlight — thanks to Sabrina Carpenter.
The Oscar winner made a surprise cameo during Carpenter’s Coachella headlining set Friday after claiming she had been blacklisted in Hollywood over her pro-Palestine views.
Carpenter, 26, was making her splashy headliner debut, transforming the stage into her own cheeky “Sabrinawood,” styled like the iconic Hollywood sign, as she powered through hits like “Espresso” and “Please, Please, Please.”
Susan Sarandon made a surprise cameo during Sabrina Carpenter’s Coachella headlining set. Coachella/YouTube
“Espresso” singer Carpenter headlined the California festival for the first time in her career. Coachella/YouTube
But it was Sarandon’s unexpected appearance — where she played an older version of the pop star in a theatrical segment — that shocked fans midway through.
The “Thelma & Louise” star, 79, appeared in a nearly seven-minute interlude set up like a nostalgic drive-in movie scene, sitting behind the wheel of a vintage car in a chic white outfit with blonde hair, styled to resemble Carpenter.
She was joined by Carpenter’s former “Girl Meets World” co-star Corey Fogelmanis, who played a weary waiter trying to clock out.
Sarandon played an older version of Carpenter in a theatrical segment midway through the set. Coachella/YouTube
Carpenter’s former “Girl Meets World” co-star Corey Fogelmanis played a weary waiter at a drive-in theater. Coachella/YouTube
In the segment, Sarandon’s “older Sabrina” reflected on her younger years and how she’s remembered, describing how her niece looks up old photos and videos of her but struggles to connect them to the person she knows.
“Aunt Sabrina is happy, but she doesn’t smile,” Sarandon’s “older Sabrina” says.
The cameo comes after Sarandon opened up about feeling pushed out of Hollywood following backlash over comments she made at a pro-Palestine rally in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack on Israel.
Sarandon was dropped by her agency after she gave a controversial speech about Jews at a pro-Palestinian protest in NYC in 2023. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
At the event in Union Square in NYC on Nov. 17, 2023, she said Jewish Americans were “getting a taste of how it feels to be Muslim in America,” remarks she later apologized for, calling them a “terrible mistake.”
Sarandon was also spotted at an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University in April 2024, wearing a leather coat jacket decked out with an image of Bart Simpson on its red leather sleeve.
In a November 2024 interview with The Times of London, Sarandon said she was dropped by her agency and lost projects, adding she felt she had been made “an example of what not to do” in the industry.
Sarandon said at the Nov. 17 rally that Jews are “getting a taste of what it is like to be Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence.” James Keivom
Her Coachella appearance marked a rare high-profile moment amid that fallout — and it wasn’t the only celebrity cameo packed into Carpenter’s ambitious set.
Will Ferrell popped up as an electrician dragging a power cable across the stage, while Samuel L. Jackson lent his voice to a reworked moment during “Juno,” booming: “Hello, Coachella … I am here to take you motherf—ers on this journey to relaxation.”
The show also opened with a cinematic black-and-white intro featuring Sam Elliott as a cryptic cop warning Carpenter not to head to California.
Carpenter’s set also featured celebrity cameos from Will Ferrell, Sam Elliott and Samuel L. Jackson. Coachella/YouTube
“You know it’s not right out there. It’s wrong,” he says in the clip.
Still, one unscripted moment briefly threatened to steal attention from the star-studded spectacle.
At one point, Carpenter paused after hearing an unusual sound from the crowd.
“I think I heard someone yodel,” she said, scanning the audience before asking, “Is that what you’re doing?”
When the fan confirmed it, Carpenter responded candidly: “I don’t like it.”
The concertgoer tried to explain it was “part of their culture,” prompting Carpenter to reply, “That’s your culture, yodeling?”
“Is this Burning Man?” the singer quipped. “What’s going on? This is weird,” she added, before quickly moving on and continuing the show.
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