Drew Brouhaha!

Barrymore Talk Show Restarts Amid Strike

Via StrikeGeist:

Meanwhile, all attention Monday turned to Drew Barrymore, who decided to restart production of her feel-good daytime talk show and is “making the choice to come back for the first time in this strike for our show, that may have my name on it but this is bigger than just me.”

The show, a WGA signatory, returns with original episodes starting on Monday, Sept. 18, following a summer hiatus. But a spokesperson for CBS Media Ventures, which produces the show, tells us that it “will not be performing any writing work covered by the WGA strike.” The show will be produced without literary material, akin to The View during the strike, according to a source close to the production.

“I own this choice,” Barrymore wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday. “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. I want to be there to provide what writers do so well, which is a way to bring us together or help us make sense of the human experience. I hope for a resolve for everyone as soon as possible.”

The WGA did not quite see it the same way.

“The Drew Barrymore Show is a WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers,” said the guild in a statement. “The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike. Any writing on The Drew Barrymore Show is in violation of WGA strike rules.”

Here’s a sampling of the brouhaha on social media:

Some press articles:

Cracked: Supposed Union Backer Drew Barrymore Seems to Have Turned Union Buster.

Deadline: ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ Hit With Pickets As Audience Members Thrown Out For Wearing WGA Badges Amid Writers Strike.

The Hollywood Reporter: Drew Barrymore Announces Talk Show Return Amid Strikes, Says It Will Comply With WGA and SAG Strike Rules: “I Own This Choice.”

Variety: Drew Barrymore Slammed by Hollywood for Bringing Talk Show Back Amid Strikes: ‘Gross,’ ‘Scab,’ ‘Incredibly Disappointing’.

There is a terrible decision. Look at the ramifications: ‘The Talk,’ ‘Jennifer Hudson Show’ Set to Resume During Dual Strikes.

Thanks for nothing, Gertie!

To read the rest of the StrikeGeist article, go here.

#WGAStrong

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