Uh oh! Drew Barrymore is facing serious backlash as production resumes at her self-titled ‘Drew Barrymore Show,’ amid SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes! Upon heading back to set, he actress and talk show host says, “This is bigger than just me.”
As we’ve previously reported, for the first time in 60 years WGA (Writers Guild of America) and SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) have joined forces and are all on strike since the beginning of May. At the time, Drew Barrymore showed her support of the WGA strike and dropped out of hosting the MTV Awards.
Just days before the show was scheduled to air, she said in a statement, “I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike. Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation. And until a solution is reached, I am choosing to wait but I’ll be watching from home and hope you will join me. I thank MTV, who has truly been some of the best partners I have ever worked with. And I can’t wait to be a part of this next year, when I can truly celebrate everything that MTV has created, which is a show that allows fans to choose who the awards go to and is truly inclusive.”
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Barrymore’s show, along with most talk show leads and productions, went dark as the WGA strike began on May 2, with SAG-AFTRA closely following. But, now it looks like ‘The Drew Barrymore Show‘ is set to make a comeback amid the battle between the studios and its creatives. Seemingly rethinking the importance of writers on her show, it’s reported that Barrymore’s talk show will return to airwaves later this month; but, that’s if its production crew and guests are willing to join her on the dark side of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA picket lines.
A few days ago, CBS announced that Barrymore’s show would begin broadcasting new episodes on September 18. However, they did not make mention of her earlier pro-union comments.
Speaking with CNN, a spokesperson for CBS Media Ventures said, “The Drew Barrymore Show will not be performing any writing work covered by the WGA strike.” Wendy McMahon, president and chief executive officer of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures added, “We couldn’t have a better partner in Drew Barrymore and look forward to bringing our fans and station clients alike new episodes this fall.”
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And to follow, Barrymore went on Instagram and addressed her decision to bring the show back amid the entertainment strikes. She said, “I made a choice to walk away from the MTV, film and television awards because I was the host and it had a direct conflict with what the strike was dealing with which was studios, streamers, film, and television. It was also in the first week of the strike and so I did what I thought was the appropriate thing at the time to stand in solidarity with the writers. And to be clear, our talk show actually wrapped on April 20th so we never had to shut down the show. However, I am also making the choice to come back for the first time in this strike for our show, that may have my name on it but this is bigger than just me.”
She added, “I own this choice. We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind. We launched live in a global pandemic. Our show was built for sensitive times and has only functioned through what the real world is going through in real time. I want to be there to provide what writers do so well, which is a way to bring us together or help us make sense of the human experience. I hope for a resolve for everyone as soon as possible. We have navigated difficult times since we first came on air. And so I take a step forward to start season 4 once again with an astute humility.”
Since the news broke, the Writers Guild of America, East announced that they will be picketing Barrymore’s New York-based daytime talk show. From their account on X, formerly known as Twitter, they wrote, “‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ is a WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers. The Guild has, and will continue to picket struck shows that are in production during the strike. Any writing on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ is in violation of WGA strike rules.”
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