5 Reasons Susan Sarandon Is A Badass

Here at IMAGE, we make no secret of our love for the brilliant Susan Sarandon. The Oscar-winning actress, activist and brand ambassador is currently at the Cannes Film Festival, making headlines for her thought-provoking comments on sexism and wanting to give the adult film industry “a female gaze” and her words, as usual, are on point. She is an industry veteran and at almost 70 she is still commanding the attention of the press simply for being herself and with her sartorial prowess.?In fact, the actor is known for being somewhat of a fashion renegade – having sent Twitter (and Piers Morgan) into meltdown earlier this year – and we love her for it. Here are five reasons the star remains a total badass:

She wears?what she likes, to hell what others think:?

Sarandon wore a cream Max Mara suit and bustier to the SAG Awards earlier this year, which showed a certain amount?of her d?colletage. The reactions ranged from sheer awe to full-on body’shaming; TV personality Piers Morgan quickly grabbed his pitchfork and branded her display of cleavage ?tacky? and ?inappropriate.??Did she care? Not one iota;’she responded?with a tweet of truly epic proportions.

Today’s #TBT is dedicated to @piersmorgan. pic.twitter.com/InU7d6qhC0

? Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) February 4, 2016

She sums up the gender pay gap like a boss:

“Pay equality is not going to happen because we scream and yell about it, it’s going to happen when we start demanding it. When there are women in other countries where people are starving it’s hard to get too upset about how many millions you’re making for?a film. Honestly, I have to say. But it isn’t fair, and it’s a good thing if Jennifer Lawrence holds out the next time and she gets an exorbitant amount of money because she is worth it. But I think we need to focus on a lot of other inequalities in other places too, in terms of health care and low-income housing and all of the other things tearing families apart.”

She isn’t afraid of a little?controversy:

She is fearless when it comes to bringing uncomfortable topics into the limelight. She courted controversy for saying she might abstain from voting for Clinton, should the former secretary of state win the nomination to contest the presidency with Trump and don’t ask her about Woody Allen. “I have nothing good to say about Woody Allen, so I don’t think we should go there.? But she went there.

As Hollywood actors we’re all paid preposterously considering what we do, but why should [women] not be paid as preposterously as men?

She wants to change the porn industry:?

According to The Guardian, Sarandon told The Times that she’s ?threatened? to direct porn when she hits her 80s. Though, as with any new venture, her new gig might require a bit of research. ?I haven’t watched enough to know what the problems are, but most pornography is brutal and doesn’t look pleasurable from a female point of view. So I’ve been saying that when I no longer want to act, I want to do that.” We want her to do that too.

She’s not interested in talking about sexism; she wants to change it:

From disregarding the “flats ban” at Cannes, she has been very vocal about the fact that women can make a change without waiting for others: ” We are where we are for a lack of imagination on the part of most studio executives. Thelma and Louise made a lot of money, and everyone thought that would usher in this whole new age of female-led movies, and it didn’t. I don’t think you can look to Hollywood to suddenly have this huge breakthrough in terms of its consciousness any more than it’s going to start wanting to make a certain amount of films starring minorities. That’s just not going to happen. The good news and the bad news is that Hollywood is not political. They’re interested in making money, and that’s the way it’s always been. But there are women producers and female actors and a lot of comediennes now who are very powerful. And they can create parts and hire women and change things.”