LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: On Thursday, July 13, the SAG-AFTRA joined the Writers Guild of America to strike for fair wages after their contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expired and the parties failed to reach a deal. The SAG-AFTRA’s national board unanimously voted to strike against studios and streamers, demanding increased minimum pay rates, increased streaming residuals and improved working conditions, among others.
As Hollywood moved towards a potential shutdown, A-list stars like Jamie Lee Curtis, Issa Rae, Bob Odenkirk, and Cynthia Nixon voiced their support towards the strike while the prominent cast of 'Oppenheimer' left a London premiere of the film "to write their picket signs." In the wake of the historic move, which marks the first time writers and actors are striking together since the 1960s, several internet users took to social media to troll celebrities, especially A-list actors, over their demands.
While some said that the actors were "late" in joining the fight that the writers started nearly two months ago, others dubbed the act as "PR stunt." Some criticized the actors for "complaining" despite being "rich" and "making millions," and others asked them to "take less money" in order to give it to the writers instead.
'The poor people starve while the famous do it for fun'
Shortly after the beginning of the SAG-AFTRA strike, some social media users took to Twitter to criticize the actors and A-listers for their action. "The poor people starve while the famous do it for fun and make a statement," one said. "Yeah.. those actors making millions saw a PR stunt," another mentioned. "So very rich people want more $$??" one asked. "These poor actors making millions a year aren’t making enough," one mockingly said. "Sorry, while i can understand the support for the lesser-known people who act, i can't help but smirk a bit when Fran Drescher and the better known people of the guild act as if they are disrespected," a fifth commented.
As one user argued saying, "all workers deserve a fair wage," one countered saying, "Then the actors should take less money and give it to writers." One said, "I just have little sympathy for them demanding higher pay for their “craft”. I mean I work in a hospital and have gotten 2% for the last 5 years for lifesaving work" while another explained, "As a rule, I don't support rich people who made their riches by pretending to be mostly poor people. There are some rich people scattered through there, but it's mostly rich people pretending to be poor people. Yes, I still enjoy entertainment as much as the next person.
One remarked on the strike saying, "Millionaire cries about millionaires" while another tweeted, "Million dollar actors crying the blues." Some also criticized SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher over her fiery strike speech. One said, "She is ok with striking now that she has been out of it and no longer an “IT” star making $1M per episode" while another wrote, "Stop crying and give your wealth to the poor. Go dig ditches and pound sand."
'I have no sympathy for Hollywood'
Some internet users also trolled actors taking part in the strike using a barrage of memes. "I have no sympathy for Hollywood at all either side of this debate," one wrote. "My girl has seen better days. Ranting rarely looks good on anyone," another said, mocking Drescher. Several others also shared memes to continue trolling the celebrities.
'That is just not realistic'
Disney CEO Bob Iger appeared on CNBC’s 'Squawk Box' on Thursday, July 13, and said that the ongoing strike was "disturbing" to him. "We’ve talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the recovery from COVID which is ongoing, it’s not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption," Iger said.
"I understand any labor organization’s desire to work on behalf of its members to get the most compensation and be compensated fairly based on the value that they deliver. We managed, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contribute to this great business. We wanted to do the same thing with the writers, and we’d like to do the same thing with the actors," he continued.
"There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive," Iger added.
