The frustration level over the still ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike sounds like its reaching a tipping point for some union members.
Mandy Moore and Melissa Gilbert are among the more high-profile members calling out SAG-AFTRA for not having its priorities in order, amid the work stoppage involving its 160,000 media professionals and entertainers.
More than three-months into the strike, the actresses ripped into the union’s guidelines this Halloween, where members are urged to avoid dressing up as characters from struck productions, and instead wear generic costumes like a non-specific ghost, zombie, spider or witch.
They also suggested SAG-AFTRA members celebrating Halloween ‘not to post photos inspired by struck content to social media, so that the studios don’t get any added publicity.
‘Is this a joke? Come on @sagaftra. This is what’s important?’ Moore, 39, shot back after learning of the spooky season rules. ‘We’re asking you to negotiate in good faith on our behalf. So many folks across every aspect of this industry have been sacrificing mightily for months. Get back to the table and get a fair deal so everyone can get back to work. Please and thank you.
Taking a stance: Mandy Moore, 39, took to social media to bash SAG-AFTRA for its Halloween guidelines, urging union members to avoid dressing up as characters from struck productions, and to not post photos inspired by struck content to social media; the actress is seen on picket line in August
Voicing concerns: Melissa Gilbert (far left), 59, also ripped into SAG-AFTRA for its Halloween guidelines, where she declared: ‘This is the kind of silly bulls**t that keeps us on strike’
Gilbert, 59, was another high-profile performer who didn’t mince her words when it came to the outrage over the Halloween rules SAG-AFTRA detailed in a blog post on its website.
‘THIS is what you guys come up with? the Little House On The Prairie star shared in her emotional Instagram post. ‘Literally no one cares what anyone wears for Halloween.’
She went on to explain: ‘I mean, do you really think this kind of infantile stuff is going to end the strike? We look like a joke. Please tell me you’re going to make this rule go away….and go negotiate!’
Sounding as if her frustration level had peaked, she added, ‘For the love of God, people are suffering mightily and this is what you have to say…c’mon guys,’ she declared. before adding, ‘@officialfrandrescher @duncanci Repost from @kevinzegers1984.’
The actress, who served as the president of the Screen Actor’s Guild from 2001 to 2005, then began to get into the blame game.
‘This is the kind of silly bulls**t that keeps us on strike,’ Gilbert added to her Instagram rant.
She ended the post with a bit of sarcasm, writing, ‘Let’s enact a policy that makes us look petty and incompetent at the same time,’ which she followed by tagging The Nanny actress Fran Drescher @officialfrandrescher’, who’s the current SAG-AFTRA president.
Both Moore and Gilbert have been seen out on the picket lines, demanding for all actors to receive fair compensation for their work, among other issues, throughout the strike that began on July 14.
No joke, real life: Moore sounded baffled when she posted her response to the Halloween guidelines, asking it it was all ‘a joke?’
The This Is Us actress urged SAG-AFTRA to ‘get back to the table’ and ‘get a fair deal so everyone can get back to work’
Hitting back: Melissa Gilbert, who served as president of SAG-AFTRA from 2001 to 2005, also sounded stumped over the Halloween guidelines, calling it all ‘infantile stuff’
Backlash: The former Little House On The Prairie star (far left) urged the union to use their time to ‘negotiate’ a new deal that’s fair
Laying it out: SAG-AFTRA listed its Halloween guidelines, which are geared at not giving the studios’ films any extra publicity, on the organization’s website
The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists went on strike over an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on July 14.
The union cited several issues in negotiations, including ‘economic fairness, residuals involving streaming services, regulating the use of artificial intelligence and alleviating the burdens of the industry-wide shift to self-taping.’
Just last week, SAG-AFTRA announced talks between the two sides had broken off without a new deal in place, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Writer’s Guild Of America (WGA) strike, which began on May 2 and affected about 11,500 screenwriters, lasted 148 days before a new deal was reached on September 27.
