Drew Barrymore announces return to daytime talk show amidst WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
In a surprising turn of events, Drew Barrymore has announced her decision to return to her daytime talk show despite the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Barrymore had previously declined the opportunity to host the MTV Movie & TV Awards in support of the WGA strike. The strike, which began in May, seeks improved pay, success-based residuals for streaming content, and regulations on the use of artificial intelligence.
“I made a choice to walk away from the MTV, film and television awards because I was the host and it had a direct conflict with what the strike was dealing with which was studios, streamers, film, and television,” Barrymore explained in a statement posted to Instagram on Sunday. “It was also in the first week of the strike and so I did what I thought was the appropriate thing at the time to stand in solidarity with the writers.”
In response to Barrymore’s announcement, the Writer’s Guild of America announced plans to picket the talk show at its CBS Broadcast Center studio in Manhattan on Monday.
“The Drew Barrymore Show is a WGA-covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers,” WGA tweeted. “The Guild has and will continue to picket-struck shows that are in production during the strike. Any writing on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ violates WGA strike rules.”
Despite the controversy, Barrymore has assured that her talk show, scheduled to return on September 18 for its fourth season, will abide by the rules of the strike. “I own this choice,” she declared. “We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind. We launched live in a global pandemic. Our show was built for sensitive times and has only functioned through what the real world is going through in real-time.”
Barrymore concluded her statement by expressing hope for a swift resolution to the strikes and acknowledging the challenges her show has faced since its inception. “We have navigated difficult times since we first came on air,” she said. “And so I take a step forward to start season 4 once again with astute humility.”
Editor’s note: Paramount+ and CBS News and Stations are part of Paramount Global, one of the companies affected by the strike. Some CBS News staff are WGA and SAG-AFTRA members but work under different contracts than the writers and actors who are on strike.
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