Two audience members scheduled to enjoy The Drew Barrymore Show in New York City on Monday were “kicked out” for wearing WGA pins in support of the writers’ and actors’ strikes, it is claimed.
The Hollywood Reporter claim that the would-be spectators signed up for free tickets to the taping, but were denied entry when staff noticed they were wearing WGA pins handed to them by picketers outside.
The incident comes as the show’s host Drew Barrymore has come under heavy criticism for agreeing to return the show for a fourth season amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
Brooke Shields will appear on the show today to talk about a non-WGA documentary.
Barrymore will also interview Jordan Fisher to talk about his time in the Broadway musical Sweeney Todd.
According to the report, audience members Dominic Turiczek and Cassidy Carter – both students based in New York – signed up for the show unaware that strike protests would take place outside the studios.
Would she approve? Drew Barrymore Show Audience Members ‘KICKED’ For Wearing WGA Pins – As Writers Guild SLAMs Its Return To Daytime TV And Pickets Outside CBS Studios In NYC
After a security guard asked them both to remove their pins, Turiczek claims a crew member noticed him still wearing his in the studio and they were both asked to leave.
As they left, the pair decided to join protesters outside, with Carter saying they were “disheartened” by the incident.
“It really changed my perspective on her and the show in general,” Carter told THR. “I am completely alarmed and discouraged by this entire process.”
In a lengthy Instagram post, Barrymore announced the decision to bring back her daytime talk show, despite previously walking out as host of the MTV Movie & TV Awards just days after the strike.
“I chose 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 about, which was studios, streamers, film and television,” she began in the movie. after. “It was also the first week of the strike and so I did what I thought was the right thing at the time to stand in solidarity with the writers.”
Protest: WGA picked up outside CBS studios filming The Drew Barrymore Show in New York on Monday (Pictured above: Olivia Wilde at a recent protest in LA)
Barrymore, 48, further clarified that the show’s third season was actually wrapped on April 20, prior to the strike, so they never had to shut down production.
But now that she has more time, she has decided to make the choice to return to work for season four, even though the strikes are ongoing, because the show is “bigger than just me.”
“I own this choice,” Barrymore continued. “We are committed to not discussing or promoting film and television that has been affected in any way. We launched live into a global pandemic. Our show was built for sensitive times and has only functioned because of what the real world is going through in real time.”
The Emmy-nominated host also revealed that she was inspired to bring the show back to provide work for its writers and entertainment for viewers during these difficult times.
“I want to be there to provide what writers do so well: a way to bring us together or help us understand the human experience,” she explained. ‘I hope for a solution for everyone as soon as possible.’
She concluded the statement by making another reference to the show’s massive efforts to launch in 2020, which was during the first COVID-19 lockdown.
“We’ve been through some tough times since we first hit the airwaves,” she wrote before ending, “And so I’m taking a step forward to begin Season 4 anew with astute humility.”
A spokesperson for the Writers Guild of America (WGA) claims that The Drew Barrymore Show is a high-profile show, and as a result, union members will picket outside its New York City studios on Monday and Tuesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“It has been off the air since the strike began on May 2, but has now (sadly) decided to return without the writers,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “The Guild has and will continue to organize any strike that will continue production during the strike.”
Actors who appear as guests when The Drew Barrymore returns for its fourth season will be required to adhere to SAG-AFTRA strike rules, which include not discussing or promoting successful work.
Bigger picture: Barrymore decided to make the choice to return to work for season four, even though the strikes are ongoing, because the show is ‘bigger than just me’
Making her case: The host stated on her Instagram page on Sunday: ‘I own this choice’ and that the show will be ‘in line with not discussing or promoting films and television that have been affected of any kind ‘
The Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents 11,500 screenwriters, was the first to go on strike on May 2 over an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
One of the main focuses in the labor dispute is streaming video residuals, with the WGA claiming that AMPTP’s share of such residuals has reduced a large portion of writers’ average incomes compared to a decade ago.
Writers also want artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, to be used only as a tool that can assist with research or facilitate script ideas, and not as a tool to replace it.
Members of the Screen Actors Guild American – Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). which represents approximately 160,000 media professionals and entertainers, went on strike on July 14 over the ongoing labor dispute with the AMPTP.
The union cited several issues during the negotiations, including “economic justice, residuals, regulating the use of artificial intelligence and easing the burden of the industry-wide shift to self-taping.”