Famous Celebrities Participating in the SAG-AFTRA Strike Picket Lines: Kevin Bacon, Olivia Wilde and Many Others
The biggest names in Hollywood are showing their support for the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike by joining their fellow union members on the picket lines.
In July, the labor union — which represents more than 160,000 TV and film actors — voted to go on strike after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) did not reach an agreement on fair wages and the use of artificial intelligence in the industry. Back in May, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) also voted to go on strike. SAG president, Fran Drescher, confirmed that the group would be striking alongside WGA.
“This is a very seminal hour for us. I went in thinking that we would be able to avert a strike. The gravity of this move is not lost on me,” Drescher stated in a press conference on July 13. “It’s a very serious thing that impacts thousands, if not millions of people all across this country and around the world. Not only members of this union, but people who work in other industries that service the people that work in this industry. … We had no choice. We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity.”
Meanwhile, the AMPTP shared in a statement that they were “deeply disappointed that SAG-AFTRA has decided to walk away from negotiations,” adding, “This is the Union’s choice, not ours. In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more.”