On Monday morning in New York, some 15 protesters gathered outside CBS Studios to voice their disapproval of Drew Barrymore’s choice to resume her own daytime talk program in the midst of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. On September 18, “The Drew Barrymore Show” will resume.
Since the guild contracts for talk shows, game shows, variety shows, and soap operas were renewed and ratified in 2022, Barrymore is not technically in violation of SAG-AFTRA rules as the host of the program. However, some WGA members feel that it is “still in dispute” whether this is a strike violation or at the very least a “moral violation.”
It would be difficult to envision a fresh version of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that doesn’t in some way draw on the writing or the concepts of earlier WGA authors, according to Jonathan Bines, a writer who is picketing in front of CBS.
It’s definitely a gray area, Bines acknowledges, but “I know that the writing process takes place in the sense that concepts are tossed about, stuff that the producers tell the host they might do with a particular host, which is close to the work that writers do.” “It seems like that would count as a writing assignment that qualifies as struck labor. I’m not saying it’s struck work, but they would have to make that call.
Barrymore is not breaking SAG-AFTRA guidelines as the show’s host, claims a statement from the union. “The Drew Barrymore Show” is produced in accordance with the Network Television Code, which is a separate agreement and is not struck, according to the statement. Drew’s function as host is legal work and thus does not conflict with the guidelines for the present strike.
Dominic Turiczek, an X/Twitter user, posted on social media about getting “kicked out” of the “Drew Barrymore Show” taping today.
I visited @DrewBarrymoreTV after receiving winning tickets without being aware of the #WGA strike. We entered with pins, were ejected, and verbally attacked by the crew of @DrewBarrymore. They obviously don’t support writers or fans of #WGAStrong! #DrewTheRightThing So we gathered and took shirts. “Fuck that,” wrote Turiczek.
We were aware of the #WGA strike, but not that picketers would be at Drew’s event. Before going inside, we were unaware that her show was written by WGA members, breaking picket lines by restarting. Evidently, we didn’t do enough study before winning the tickets because we did so at the last minute.
The audience members who were kicked out were addressed by a “Drew Barrymore Show” spokesman in a statement to Variety.
Everyone is welcome to watch the show’s tapings, according to company policy, the representative stated. We regret that two audience members were denied entrance or were not permitted to attend due to increased security concerns today. The audience members who were impacted are currently being contacted to offer them new tickets because Drew was absolutely ignorant of the issue.