Drew Barrymore Removes Heartfelt Apology Video as WGA Cancels Highly-Anticipated Showrunner Meeting

“Are the publicists on strike too?” journalist Hunter Harris questioned this week, reflecting on the current situation surrounding Drew Barrymore’s talk show amid the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. The perplexity intensifies as Barrymore deleted an emotional “apology” video from her Instagram account, where she repeatedly denied working with a public relations team to explain the show’s return. It has been a whirlwind few days for the actress turned talk show host. Initially, the show announced its return from summer hiatus through a press release and social media posts a few weeks ago. However, when the show’s writers discovered that the syndicated daytime talk show would continue without their involvement, the WGA decided to picket the show’s studio. Vanity Fair’s requests for comment on behalf of Barrymore have gone unanswered. On the day of the picket announcement, Barrymore posted an apology/explanation to Instagram. Typically, at this point, a crisis communications specialist would advise leaving the matter be. However, instead of allowing the coverage to fade away as the week progressed, Barrymore followed up with a video in which she offered a heartfelt apology to the writers and unions but maintained her decision to continue production. High-profile actors, many of whom are also affected by the SAG-AFTRA strike, responded to her video with criticism, as reported by Deadline. Actor Bradley Whitford tweeted, “Drew Barrymore would like you to know that undermining union solidarity at the most crucial moment in Hollywood labor history makes her the victim.” David Krumholtz commented, “You could shut it down and you’d be considered brave. You’d be forgiven.” Debra Messing added her voice, stating, “You can choose now to halt production. You can choose to pay your employees like other talk show hosts who have stood in solidarity with the writers.” Overnight, Barrymore’s post disappeared, yet tickets to her show remain available online, suggesting that its deletion did not indicate a production halt. Meanwhile, the WGA’s East Coast strike schedule for next week includes planned pickets at Barrymore’s studio. Vulture’s Josef Adalian and Kathryn VanArendonk noted that the response to Barrymore’s return to production is much louder than the response to Bill Maher, whose late-night talk show, Real Time With Bill Maher, will be the first to return without writers. However, Power creator Courtney Kemp is rallying colleagues to assemble at the CBS Television City studio, where Maher records his show, to “really screw up Bill Maher’s day!” The WGA plans to picket Maher’s show, citing potential violations of strike rules. Maher has not provided any responses, likely to minimize stories about him during the strike. Unfortunately, the cancellation of a meeting between WGA leadership and top showrunners further complicates the situation’s resolution. Although negotiations may resume, writers like Cristina Kinon, co-head writer of The Drew Barrymore Show, fear that decisions like Barrymore’s could prolong the strike, hindering Hollywood. Kinon expressed frustration, saying, “There’s word that maybe some other shows are coming back. So it is frustrating because it will prolong the strike, and we just want it to end.”

Reference

Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
DMCA compliant image

Leave a Comment