Drew Barrymore took to social media on Friday to address backlash over her talk show’s return. Despite the criticism, the actress has doubled down on her choice.
What did Drew Barrymore say?
In a recent video posted to Instagram, Barrymore acknowledged the backlash she’s faced since announcing that her show, The Drew Barrymore Show, would return during the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
“I believe there’s nothing I can do or say in this moment to make it OK,” Barrymore said in the teary video. “I wanted to own a decision, so that it wasn’t a PR-protected situation, and I would just take full responsibility for my actions. I know there is just nothing I can do that will make this OK to those that it is not OK with. I fully accept that. I fully understand that. There are so many reasons why this is so complex, and I just want everyone to know my intentions have never been in a place to upset or hurt anymore. It’s not who I am. I’ve been through so many ups and downs in my life, and this is one of them.”
Despite the backlash and sadness the actress feels, Barrymore said the show would be continuing, namely because “other people’s jobs” are on the line.
“There’s a huge question of the why — why am I doing this?” said Barrymore. “Well, I certainly couldn’t have expected this kind of attention, and we aren’t going to break rules and we will be in compliance. I wanted to do this, because as I said, this is bigger than me and there are other people’s jobs on the line.”
What is the WGA’s issue with The Drew Barrymore Show?
Barry announced that her daytime talk show would be returning earlier this week as both Hollywood strikes continued. Almost immediately, the actress received backlash; the WGA noted that it would picket and protest the production.
Although Barrymore said that she wouldn’t be discussing any struck work and would be adhering to the SAG-AFTRA strike guidelines, the WGA argued otherwise. According to the WGA East, since her show previously employed WGA writers, they consider the program “WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers,” and said that it “will continue to picket struck shows that are in production during the strike,” while also saying that “any writing on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ is a violation of WGA strike rules.”
Barrymore being on the show itself is not a violation of any SAG-AFTRA strike rules due to her contract being different than what the actors guild is fighting. However, the program did employ WGA writers prior to the strike, which is where the source of contention comes from.