New York CNN –
Fran Drescher, the leader of the SAG-AFTRA union, has been criticized for traveling to Italy to attend Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Moda celebrations last weekend after her 160,000-member actors’ union set a deadline to strike threatened on Thursday.
Drescher’s appearance at the glamor event was confirmed in an Instagram post that showed her photographed with Kim Kardashian. This sparked criticism from a number of SAG-AFTRA members, as well as members of the Writer Guild of America, which is already on strike against the studios and streaming services.
“Negotiating our possible strike from Italy seems like a strange strategy” tweeted Actor Lenny Jacobson.
“Look – I’m not saying you can’t have a private life. And I’m not saying you can’t take a vacation. But we are in the midst of the most important negotiations in decades, and our WGA siblings are fighting for their lives on the 70th day. The visuals here are “really” terrible. Do it better.” tweeted Actress Briana Cap.
“Some really made them eat cake vibes for the SAG-AFTRA members who marched alongside us WGA members this morning.” tweeted Taffy Brodesser-Akner, member of the Writers Guild.
SAG-AFTRA did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on Drescher’s performance early Tuesday. She issued a comment to some other media outlets on Monday, saying Dresher’s appearance at the Dolce & Gabbana event was part of her commitment to serve as a “brand ambassador,” she had continued to participate in negotiations, and the union’s bargaining committee knew of her journey.
The union was originally scheduled to go on strike in the early hours of July 1, but just before that deadline, the union and management group, which was negotiating on behalf of major studios and streaming services, pushed back the deadline to July 12, 11:59 p.m P.T.
Drescher, star of 1990s sitcom The Nanny, recorded a video ahead of the renewal saying the union had made progress on talks. But she and union negotiators are under pressure from rank and file members, including some top A-list actors, who have signed a letter urging them to take a hard line in the current negotiations and be ready to strike unless they achieve their goals at the negotiating table.
“A strike brings incredible hardship for so many and no one wants it,” the letter said. “But we are ready to strike if it comes to that. And we are concerned at the notion that SAG-AFTRA members might be willing to make sacrifices that the leadership is not making. We hope you heard the news from us. This is an unprecedented turning point in our industry and what might have been good business in other years just doesn’t cut it.”
In addition to economic issues such as pay scales and social benefits, the union is pushing for progress on the balances paid when films or series are re-released, particularly on streaming services, and for safeguards on the use of artificial intelligence to create characters using actors’ voices or Similarity.
After the letter received hundreds of signatures, Drescher signed it as well.
Members have already voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, although this is not uncommon in union labor negotiations per se. Even if an agreement is reached, membership ratification would be required to prevent a strike from starting.
Production of many films and TV shows has already been halted due to the current writers’ strike. An actors’ strike would bring most remaining production to a standstill, with the exception of a few independent films not affiliated with studios. Since it began on May 2, there has been no visible progress in ending the writers’ strike. Now there are concerns the closures could extend through the summer, perhaps even into the end of the year, as actors join the writers’ strike.
This could be the first strike by actors against TV shows and film production since the 1980s. The industry has changed radically since then, with most programs aired on just three channels and films only showing in theaters first. Video rental giant Blockbuster had yet to start going out of business, let alone streaming.
The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP), which negotiates on behalf of the studios, includes Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), CBS (VIAC), Disney (DIS), NBC Universal, Netflix (NFLX), Paramount Global, Sony (SNE) and CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery Many of these companies have seen their stock prices fall over the past year, leading to significant cost cuts, including layoffs.