Drew Barrymore has drawn the ire of WGA and SAG for the proposed return of her talk show. In an Instagram post, the Hollywood star announced on Monday that the fourth season of her talk show will begin soon.
“I made a choice to walk away from the MTV, film and television awards because I was the host and it had a direct conflict with what the strike was dealing with which was studios, streamers, film, and television. It was also in the first week of the strike and so I did what I thought was the appropriate thing at the time to stand in solidarity with the writers. And to be clear, our talk show actually wrapped on April 20th so we never had to shut down the show. However, I am also 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,” read Barrymore’s post.
“I own this choice. 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. We have navigated difficult times since we first came on air. And so I take a step forward to start season 4 once again with an astute humility,” posted Barrymore.
Notably, Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA are currently on strike. The Writers Guild has announced that they would picket outside of Barrymore’s studios on Monday and Tuesday in New York City.
“It has stayed off the air since the strike began on May 2nd but has now (unfortunately) decided to return without its writers. The Guild has, and will continue to, picket any struck show that continues production for the duration of the strike,” a spokesperson for the Writers Guild told The Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, some netizens took to social media platform “X” and called out Barrymore for her proposed talk show.
One person tweeted pictures of demonstrators outside CBS’ office in New York City and captioned it, “Picketers in NYC outside CBS this morning in protest of Drew Barrymore’s return to her daytime talk show – minus writers, she says, but the WGA says it’s in the defiance of the writers strike”.
“Drew Berrymore being a scab was not on my 2023 bingo card,” commented another user.
“She is showing the true face of woke Hollywood! Selfish, greedy and entitled. Do as they say not as they do!,” wrote another user.