Drew Barrymore’s talk show is back in production, despite the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike—and everyone in the entertainment industry is calling her out.
On Tuesday, Cristina Kinon, head writer for Drew Barrymore’s show, joined the picket line outside of CBS Studios, where the show was taping. She was joined by two other writers holding signs that said “Drew’s WGA Crew,” “Do You Like Breaking Strikes?,” and “Drew’s News: Strikes.” Kinon posted a photo of the picket line on Instagram.
“The only people I know for sure that are not going back are us three WGA writers. And the rest, I can’t really speak for,” writer Chelsea White told NPR. “I think first and foremost, this is obviously way bigger than just ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ and writers. We are out here standing with our union and feeling great and excited always to stand with our union.”
Meanwhile, fans and audience members—at least some of them seemingly unaware that the show was violating the WGA strike—accepted WGA pins from strikers before they went inside to the taping, only to get kicked out for wearing the pins. On Monday, Dominic Turiczek took to Twitter to describe one such incident.
“Went to @DrewBarrymoreTV after winning tickets, unaware of the #WGA strike. We took pins & went in, got kicked out, & verbally assaulted by @DrewBarrymore’s crew. It’s clear they don’t support #WGAStrong, writers or fans! #DrewTheRightThing So we took shirts and joined. Fuck that,” Turiczek wrote.
A spokesperson for Barrymore reportedly said they “regretted” the incident, but CBS continued to prevent audience members from wearing WGA pins. Talk show writer Greg Iwinski reported that after the incident on Monday, other audience members’ bags were searched so that security could confiscate any other WGA buttons they found.
Meanwhile, Barrymore’s response has skirted the issue of the strike. Barrymore posted a statement on Instagram saying that she “owns this choice,” arguing that she isn’t violating the strike because she won’t discuss struck work on the show. The statement ignores the obvious issue that Barrymore’s own show is struck work for her writers, making her a strikebreaker, otherwise known as a scab.
Bradley Whitford, Anson Mount, and other actors called Barrymore out on her hypocrisy, saying they would “never forget” her choice to cross the picket line.
It isn’t just individuals calling Barrymore out, either. Yesterday, the National Book Foundation announced that it had rescinded its invitation to Barrymore to host the upcoming National Book Awards ceremony. “The National Book Awards is an evening dedicated to celebrating the power of literature, and the incomparable contributions of writers to our culture,” the Foundation said in a statement on Tuesday. “In light of the announcement that ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ will resume production, the National Book Foundation has rescinded Ms. Barrymore’s invitation to host the 74th National Book Awards Ceremony.”
(featured image: David Livingston/Getty Images)
