Susan Sarandon. © Getty Images

MANY celebrities shy away from discussing political issues in public, but Susan Sarandon takes quite the opposite approach.

“When it comes to speaking out, I’ve always felt that I would rather use my career than have my career use me,” she told us when we caught up with her in Cannes. “But also I’m very aware that the mainstream media doesn’t cover a lot of really important events and facts. So if I’m able to be a flashlight kind of shining on some of that…”

A notoriously outspoken supporter of Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential nominations, she also protested against the Dakota Access Pipeline and has advocated against the death penalty in the United States for decades.

With Bernie Sanders. © Getty

“Standing Rock, for instance, that really got no coverage. Bernie Sanders really got no coverage, until he started winning state after state. Then there’s a lot of small groups that need help, or maybe there’s a bill that’s about to be passed that nobody knows about,” she said. “I mean, that’s where social media can really help. Not that you have the answers, but at least to give people information.”

Sarandon was appointed a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in 1999 and received the Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award in 2006 – that’s as well as her BAFTA, Oscar and Screen Actors’ Guild awards. A passionate and long-standing supporter of issues she believes in, her advocacy and activism has hit headlines since she joined social media in recent years – a quick glance at her Twitter page sees her debating and defending multiple issues in tandem.

With lifeguards in Lesbos. © Getty

“I found when I went to Lesbos a couple of years ago at Christmas, I went with the idea of trying to give a real face to these people who had been reduced to concepts,” she explained. “So social media was very helpful at that moment – to be able to tell their stories and give them a voice. Because at that time there was very little coverage, until a child washed up on a shore. If I can use my little light to give people information, they can make educated choices. And if it sometimes helps, then I’m happy to do that.”

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