Drew Barrymore took the time to speak out in an emotional video about her plans to move forward with her daytime talk show, amid major backlash due to the writer’s strike.
“I believe there’s nothing I can do or say in this moment to make it OK,” Barrymore said on Friday afternoon, in an emotional video she posted on her Instagram. “I wanted to own a decision, so that it wasn’t a PR-protected situation, and I would just take full responsibility for my actions.” While getting emotional Barrymore continued, “I know there is just nothing I can do that will make this OK to those that it is not OK with. I fully accept that. I fully understand that. There are so many reasons why this is so complex, and I just want everyone to know my interns have never been in a place to upset or hurt anymore. It’s not who I am.”
As we previously reported, Barrymore caught some heat from fans after announcing on September 18th that her talk would be returning amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. She issued a statement with her announcement that read: “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,” Barrymore said in her initial statement, announcing her show would return. “I own this choice,” she continued, stating that the show is “in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind.”
Of course, she thought that fans would be excited about her announcement but for some reason, her plan backfired on her. Since her controversial statements, The U.S. National Book Awards are no longer interested in having Drew Barrymore serve as their host, according to The AvClub. The decision to her not be a part of the show was announced this week. In a statement, the NBF wrote that, “The National Book Awards is an evening dedicated to celebrating the power of literature, and the incomparable contributions of writers to our culture. In light of the announcement that The Drew Barrymore Show will resume production, the National Book Foundation has rescinded Ms Barrymore’s invitation to host the 74th National Book Awards Ceremony [in New York].”
Drew Barrymore isn’t the only person who announced that their show is coming back. Bill Maher also announced that his HBO show will soon return without writers. “Real Time is coming back, unfortunately, sans writers or writing. It has been five months, and it is time to bring people back to work,” he wrote Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter. The liberal comedian said that while he “sympathized” with the writers’ concerns, there were other staff who were being hurt financially by the strike.