As the Writers Guild of America strike continues, celebrities like Ava DuVernay, Niecy Nash-Betts and Robin Thede have shown up with picketers to support writers in Hollywood.
As theGrio previously reported, the Writers Guild of America officially went on strike last week after they failed to come to an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The first writers’ strike in 15 years comes during the streaming era, as writers speak of a massive shift in the industry leading to more cash for studios but lower compensation and residual money in writers’ pockets.
DuVernay, an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, was seen with members of the strike in front of Paramount Studios on Tuesday in Los Angeles alongside her “When They See Us” collaborator, Nash-Betts. In the video clip, per Yahoo!, Nash-Betts sings along to Gloria Gaynor’s hit song “I Will Survive,” while DuVernay records her.
Also picketing outside of Paramount was Gabourey Sidibe (“Precious,” “American Horror Story”), Kendrick Sampson of “Insecure,” Samira Wiley (“Orange is the New Black,” “The Handmaid’s Tale”), and Thede of “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” Thede told Deadline while striking on Wednesday, “I’m striking because paying writers a day rate is an abomination. We are skilled professionals and we deserve to be paid that way.”
“Our storytellers need to be protected, especially in a time of CRT (Critical Race Theory) and attacks on our stories,” Sampson told the outlet. “We need to make sure that we support and create safe spaces and good material conditions, pay, money for these writers.”
As theGrio previously reported, lower episodic rates, smaller writers rooms, and dwindling residual returns are all factors that led to the eventual WGA strike. Since the strike went into effect last week, various shows were forced to halt production including hit primetime series like “Abbott Elementary,” and even live shows like “Saturday Night Live” and “The Talk.”
Find more information on the WGA and their strike on the WGA site.
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