The CEO of Warner Bros./Discovery was booed and given chants of “pay your writers” during his speech at Boston University’s opening ceremony on Sunday.
Video from the final exam shows Zaslav, 63, addressing the large crowd as loud boos and jeers emanated from the crowd during his 20-minute speech.
A clip introducing Zaslav—law school alum at Boston University in 1985—shows the crowd screaming as a faculty claps behind him.
An airplane carrying a banner reading “DAVID ZASLAV – PAY YOUR WRITERS” circled over the commencement ceremony throughout the event.
The pushback on the WBD CEO’s performance comes as the Hollywood Writer’s Guild of America strike enters its third week and productive talks are yet to take place.
The CEO of Warner Bros./Discovery was booed and given chants of “pay your writers” during his speech at Boston University’s opening ceremony on Sunday
Video from the graduation shows shows Zaslav, 63, addressing the large crowd as loud boos and jeers are heard from the crowd during his 20-minute speech
An airplane carrying a banner reading “DAVID ZASLAV: PAY YOUR WRITERS” circled over the commencement ceremony throughout the event
Booing broke out early Sunday morning at Nickerson Field on the BU campus when University President Robert A. Brown introduced Zaslav.
Brown said of WBD’s CEO that he has a “passion for documenting and sharing the human story on a global scale,” which immediately met with backlash.
In addition to ‘pay your writers’, the audience could be heard shouting ‘shut up, Zaslav’, ‘no contract, no speech’ and other opposition messages.
A woman who appeared to be graduating at the ceremony held up a sign that read “Ew, David,” referencing a popular line from the television series “Schitt’s Creek.”
One person in the crowd held up a sign that read “Did AI write this too?”
Another woman was seen with a ‘Zaslav, pay your writers. I stand with the WGA’, message on her graduation cap.
Zaslav had to repeatedly interrupt his speech and wait for the chants and boos to die down before continuing.
A picket line formed outside the stadium with dozens holding signs and marching around the perimeter in solidarity with the striking writers.
Boos erupted early Sunday morning at Nickerson Field on the BU campus when University P resident Robert A. Brown introduced Zaslav
In addition to ‘pay your writers’, the audience could be heard shouting ‘shup up, Zaslav’, ‘no contract, no speech’ and other opposition messages.
At one point in his speech, Zaslav joked about giving life advice to students, which was met with a huge response with boos and other jeers.
Another time, he discussed his time as a lawyer and mentioned the “good money” he made, sparking angry chants.
WBD’s CEO never mentioned the strike during his speech, but spoke to those who booed it towards the end and said he looks forward to their work.
“I hope to see you all – and I mean all of you on the way. The journey of life. There’s nothing better,” he said, pointing to the crowd.
His speech comes as the strike enters its third week and discussions are still seemingly deadlocked.
Production on shows filmed in New York, Los Angeles and other cities around the world has virtually ground to a halt since the strike began on May 1.
Currently, most shows have yet to feel the effects of the strike, but that could change drastically in the fall.
At this time, all late night TV shows, including “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” have stopped filming due to the outage.
“Saturday Night Live,” whose season was set to end on Saturday, closed early and Pete Davidson’s hosting date was canceled due to the strike.
At one point in his speech, Zaslav joked about giving life advice to students, which was met with a huge response with boos and other jeers.
Production of shows filmed in New York, Los Angeles and other cities around the world has come to a virtual halt since the strike began on May 1
At this time, all late night TV shows, including “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” have stopped filming due to the disruption
The WGA has asked for several things in their contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that have yet to be secured.
One of the biggest concerns is that of leftovers — checks writers receive when their show or movie is televised again — and their declining dollar amount.
The writers say that in the age of streaming, many of them are unable to make ends meet or support themselves in this profession, even as some studios are seeing record profits.
Another important point on the table is the use of AI in writing television and movies.
The WGA calls for protection against artificial intelligence, which could endanger thousands of jobs.