Celebrities have shown their support for their fellow actors (Picture: AFP/Getty)
Celebrities are showing their support for fellow actors following the confirmation of a strike.
Hollywood officially went on strike today (July 13) after US union Sag-Aftra voted unanimously to walk out, following weeks of unsuccessful negotiations.
Months after the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began their strike, Sag members followed suit, which could see production impacted on some of 2023 and 2024’s most anticipated TV shows and films.
The strike initially began after an agreement was not reached over better pay for actors and increased safeguarding around artificial intelligence (AI) rights.
Following 12 days of heated negotiations, Sag – which represents 160,000 television and movie actors – instructed people to down tools.
Members of the union have now already been seen on picket lines at all the major studios, in what is the first dual strike of the WGA and Sag since 1960.
Margot Robbie is part of Sag too (Picture: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Emily Blunt made it clear she’s all for ‘unity’ (Picture: Laurent VU/SIPA/Shutterstock)
Voicing their solidarity, the likes of Margot Robbie, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Matt Damon have all made it clear where they stand.
Ahead of the Oppenheimer premiere in London, Damon confirmed that the cast – which also includes Florence Pugh, Cillian Murphy, and Emily Blunt – would leave early if a strike was enforced.
Speaking on the red carpet, the actor told Variety: ‘Look, if it’s called now, everyone’s going to walk obviously in solidarity.
‘Once the strike is officially called, [we’re walking].
‘That’s why we moved this [red carpet] up because we know the second it’s called, we’re going home.’
The Oppenheimer cast walked out of their London premiere after the walk-out was announced (Picture: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
Matt Damon stressed that it’s ‘life and death stuff’ (Picture: Reuters)
He added that the strike is about supporting ‘working actors’ as many struggle to qualify for health coverage, which is $26,000 (£19.8k).
‘A lot of people are on the margins and residual payments are getting them across that threshold. This isn’t an academic exercise. This is real life and death stuff,’ he stressed.
‘Hopefully we get to a resolution quickly. No one wants a work stoppage, but we’ve got to get a fair deal.’
Co-star Blunt also told Deadline: ‘I hope everyone makes a fair deal, and we are here to celebrate this movie. And if they call it, we’ll be leaving together as cast in unity with everyone.
‘We are gonna have to. We are gonna have to. We will see what happens. Right now it’s the joy to be together.’
Jamie Lee Curtis made is known where she stands (Picture: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
Jamie Lynn Spears vocalised her solidarity with union members (Picture: Instagram)
Meanwhile, Barbie lead Robbie told Sky News at the London premiere on Wednesday that she is a member of Sag.
She said she would ‘absolutely stand by’ a strike.
Britney Spears’ sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, has also voiced her support ahead of the release of her Netflix and Paramount projects this month.
Taking to Instagram, the actress said: ‘It’s important and necessary that we all stick together, but it’s also heartbreaking and creates a lot of complicated feelings because you worked so hard with so many other people — not just yourself — to create this and this is your time to celebrate it.’
As a member of Sag herself, the Zoey 101 star explained that she and her fellow striking actors will no longer be doing ‘ongoing press, social media promotion, premieres, anything’ towards current or wrapped projects as per the strike.
Elsewhere on social media, Halloween actress Curtis made her feelings known.
Riley Keough said the acting community is her ‘second family’ (Picture: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images)
She shared an image of theatre masks with the words: ‘It looks like it’s time to take down the masks and pick up the signs’.
The Knives Out star also changed her Instagram profile picture to the Sag logo.
Riley Keough told Vanity Fair earlier this week that, while it’s a ‘strange time’ for actors in ‘uncharted’ territory, she feels ‘proud to stand in solidarity with my fellow film community’.
The Daisy Jones & The Six star added: ‘I love this community so much and I love the support within this community and I’m hoping for a resolution soon.’
Cynthia Nixon tweeted: ‘The @sagaftra strike has at last arrived. I am proud to be standing tall with the @WGAWest and @WGAEast as actors and writers together demand a fair share of the record-breaking profits the studios have been reaping from our labour for far too long.
‘We will win this!’
Union President Fran Drescher gave a passionate speech about the importance of the movement (Picture: Reuters)
Sag represents 160,000 television and movie actors (Picture: Getty)
Fans and fellow actors have been heaping praise on Fran Drescher, who is the President of Sag-Aftra, after she gave a passionate speech via a livestream, discussing the importance of the movement.
‘This is a very seminal hour for us,’ she said. ‘The gravity of this move is not lost on me.
‘It’s a very serious thing that impacts thousands if not millions of people.
‘This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don’t stand tall now we are all going to be in trouble.
‘The jig is up Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), we stand tall, you need to wake up and smell the coffee. You cannot exist without us.’
Months after the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began their strike, Sag members followed suit (Picture: Getty)
Signs and t-shirts galore, people have flocked to the picket lines (Picture: Getty)
Discussing how long the action could last, Drescher replied: ‘That’s up to them, we are open to talking to them tonight.
‘All of this is because of their behaviour, it’s up to them if they want to talk in a normal way.’
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‘This is real life and death stuff.’
