Fran Drescher shows her solidarity with writers as she joins the picket line

Hollywood icon and SAG-AFRA president Fran Drescher has shown her solidarity with film and television writers protesting for better wages.

The Nanny star, 65, joined Meredith Stiehm, president of the Writers Guild of America West, and other members of the union in a strike outside the Paramount Pictures studio in Los Angeles on Monday.

Waving a sign saying “SAG-AFTRA supports WGA,” Drescher smiled broadly as she joined the chanting protesters gathered outside the building.

Fran Fine once said, “Never, never, never cross a picket line.” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher joined WGA President Meredith Stiehm and other #sagaftra members today at the #WGAstrike picket line at Paramount Studios. #WGAstrong #1u #solidarity,” SAG-AFTRA captioned a post by Drescher pickets today.

Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA since 2021, opted for a stylish and comfortable look for her protest day in the sun.

She wore a satiny black jumpsuit, sneakers, a sleek haircut and shades.

The Happily Divorced actress also posed with Meredith, as they both flexed their biceps as they displayed their protest signs in front of the studio.

The boards of directors of the Writers Guild of America East and West Coast divisions voted to strike at midnight last week.

The strike began after the guild failed to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers over pay and streaming remainders, among other things.

The union’s estimated 11,500 members cannot continue to work for production companies such as Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Amazon and Apple.

The basic rule for writers is that they must immediately stop providing writing services to all companies that are part of the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers.

The last Hollywood writers’ strike, which took place in 2007-2008, lasted 100 days and cost the entertainment industry $2.1 billion.

Movie and television writers are on strike over complaints that studios have been underpaying them for years, especially when it comes to streaming shows that have produced almost no residuals over time.

They are also fighting back against studios’ attempts to shrink writers’ rooms, shorten the number of episodes of television seasons, and leave open the possibility of replacing human writers with so-called “AI” programs.

While it’s only just getting started, it’s already made a big impact in Hollywood with late night shows going dark.

Even the MTV Movie & TV Awards had to make serious last-minute changes when host Drew Barrymore dropped out and the WGA announced it was pulling out of the show. It shifted from a live event to a pre-recorded program.

Raising their voices: Drescher waved a ‘SAG-AFTRA supports WGA’ sign and joined protesters chanting outside the iconic studio

Solidarity: Drescher grinned as she proudly held up her plate

Hollywood icon: The Nanny actress has been the president of SAG-AFTRA since 2021

Teamwork: Drescher protested along with WGAW President Meredith Stiehm

Power in numbers! The Happily Divorced actress also posed with Meredith, as they both flexed their biceps as they displayed their protest signs in front of the studio

“I’ve listened to the writers and to really respect them, I’ll be hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,” Barrymore said. Variety.

“Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television stems from their creation,” she said.

Barrymore added that she will be watching the show from home and still plans to return as a presenter next year.

The labor action also led the awards show to cancel red carpet festivities, and other stars to stop to show their support for strikers.