Drew Barrymore apologized to the WGA members on behalf of her daytime talk show for resuming as the strike by the writers and SAG-AFTRA continued. The news was met with hate from famous names and organizations. Alyssa Milano declared her love for Barrymore but criticized the move, saying that it derailed the labour movement.
Bradley Whitford made a point through satire and pointed out how difficult it must have been to get back to work last week. David Krumholtz highlighted how people were struck by the complexity of the issue and called upon Barrymore to let go of her show, making it brave and unifying.
Messing criticized fellow star Barrymore for taking her production off the air before making a switch as a last resort—and challenged her to reconsider. The WGA made clear that writers should neither be seen nor heard on television now, as shows such as Barrymores rely on writing, which is strikework.
CBS Media Ventures, producer and distributor of The Drew Barrymore Show, said that they are committed to labour agreements and strike rules. They said that the show hosts have their own agreement with SAG-AFTRA and were able to keep hosting through strikes. They pointed out that every single one of those new shows was completely unscripted and had no staff filling any writing positions.
The AFL-CIO compared Barrymore’s decision to turn down offer after offer to how the auto industry was poised for its union action. Barrymore later took back her apology from her Instagram page.
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Drew Barrymore would like you to know that undermining union solidarity at the most crucial moment in Hollywood labor history makes her the victim. This has been, like, a super tough week for her. https://t.co/wtDVor9rKs
— Bradley Whitford (@BradleyWhitford) September 15, 2023