Protesters heavily criticized host Drew Barrymore for relaunching her daytime talk show without the presence of its unionized writers amidst the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Demonstrators gathered in front of CBS Studios in New York on Monday, chanting slogans like “shut it down” to show their opposition to Barrymore’s choice to resume production of the talk show’s fourth season. Even the writers from Barrymore’s own show showed solidarity with the protest by participating in the picket line, holding signs that read “Drew’s WGA Crew.” In an Instagram post, Barrymore explained her decision to restart the show, stating that it would not promote any “struck” films or television shows. She expressed her desire to provide what writers excel at, which is bringing people together and offering insights into the human experience. However, the WGA denounced the resumption of production as a violation of union regulations since the talk show is a WGA-covered program that falls under the strike. The WGA East conveyed its disapproval through a message posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, stating that they will continue to protest against struck shows in production during the strike. Additionally, two audience members alleged on social media that they were ejected from the taping on Monday because they wore WGA pins. One member, Dominic Turiczek, shared a viral tweet where he accused the show’s crew of verbally assaulting them for wearing pins that supported the Writers Guild On Strike. Turiczek wrote that they decided to remove their shirts and join the protest instead. A representative for the Barrymore show claimed that the incident occurred due to heightened security concerns and offered the affected audience members additional tickets as compensation. Furthermore, The National Book Foundation rescinded Barrymore’s invitation to host the National Book Awards as a response to her decision to restart the talk show. The foundation emphasized their commitment to maintaining focus on celebrating writers and books during the awards ceremony. It’s worth noting that other talk shows, such as CBS’s The Talk, the Jennifer Hudson Show, and Sherri Shepherd’s Sherri, have also announced their plans to resume production despite the ongoing strikes by WGA and Sag-Aftra unions. Barrymore, who has been hosting the Drew Barrymore Show since its premiere in 2020, garnered praise in May when she withdrew as host of the MTV Movie & TV Awards in solidarity with striking writers. However, her latest choice to resume production has sparked disappointment and outrage among online commentators. One user on X described the situation as “wild” to see writers picketing their own show and hoped that Barrymore would reconsider her decision. Another individual expressed deep disappointment with Barrymore’s actions.
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