There’s an old joke used in show business when events and gatherings lack major celebrity attendance: “Somebody punch me in the face so I can see some stars.”
But it’s no joke when it comes to the picket lines of the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes, according to some of the protesters on the ground and select industry players who spoke to Variety. There’s been a “palpable” lack of headliners, said one prominent SAG-AFTRA member, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “If our stars were all out there in force advocating for us, we’d know it,” they added.
Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Rami Malek all signed a June letter telling union leadership they were prepared to strike, but none of them have surfaced holding signs or chanting at studio gates. Leonardo DiCaprio posted an Instagram story saying he stood “in solidarity with my guild,” but has yet to stand for any in-person protest. On day one of the actor’s strike in mid-July, one protester straddled a median at the drive-on gate at Netflix headquarters holding a sign that read, “Where the fuck is Ben Affleck?” So far, no one’s seen him on the front lines.
These names join dozens of others that come to mind (Denzel Washington, Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, a recently un-retired Cameron Diaz) when one thinks about star power. “Plus,” one picketer recently said, noting the deep influence stars wield with global media, “the cameras follow them everywhere.”
To be fair, plenty of famous award winners have turned up to support the guilds: Rachel McAdams, Lupita Nyong’o, Mark Ruffalo, “Abbot Elementary” creator and star Quinta Brunson, Allison Janney, Bob Odenkirk and more. But the absent mega-stars might have some complicated reasons for staying home.
“It’s not necessarily to our advantage for the people who are the most successful, wealthy and visible to be taking up space right now,” said another entrenched SAG-AFTRA member. “We already have a perception problem where people say, ‘These are just a bunch of rich actors.’ Those stars don’t work for scale pay; they don’t need the protection of a better contract. If Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston show up, they look like they’re crying poor.”
Another wrench, according to a top talent advisor speaking anonymously, is the issue of taste. The rep said they had several clients ask which pickets to attend, and if they should book hair and makeup for potential media spots. The rep cautioned that the strikes were a “very serious matter, not a red carpet opportunity.”
Several players aligned with the AMPTP, the group representing the companies in contract negotiators with the actors and writers, noted the flood of stars who now serve as serious producers. The content boom that resulted from the rise of streaming has made legitimate production players of many name actors, including Witherspoon and her Hello Sunshine outfit, Margot Robbie and her LuckyChap (filmmakers behind this weekend’s record-breaking hit “Barbie”) and Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort. Those stars might not be keen to highlight their interests on both sides of the fence, one source noted.
The climate in traditional media and social platforms is also “hyper-reactive,” one top-level strategist told Variety. “There are endless calls and Zooms with talent to discuss how even the smallest, most intuitive show of support might play out.” The strategist is not wrong – anyone catch Bob Iger in Sun Valley calling the strikes disruptive? Or Fran Drescher’s blistering response to that?
“The real place the A-listers can help is donating to relief funds and lobbying the studio heads behind the scenes,” one agent said. To that end, Dwayne Johnson made a 7-figure donation on Monday to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, which provides financial aid for members who can demonstrate hardship caused by work stoppage from the strike. Similarly, Jamie Lee Curtis and husband Christopher Guest put up $25,000 last week to the same cause.
Others in the town think there’s a middle ground, where stars don’t have to be a distraction, but can still be effective. When pointing out that some picketers were frustrated to see Pitt, Ariana Grande and Andrew Garfield photographed at Wimbledon during the strike’s first weekend, one power publicist said it wouldn’t hurt for Pitt “to throw on a SAG-AFTRA shirt when he knows there will be paparazzi.” An Emmy awards consultant also suggested that Jeremy Allen White, the lead of “The Bear” who recently had the internet panting with shirtless photos and has turned up on the picket line, do his daily pushups and jogging at the picket line.
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