Drew Barrymore found herself the center of controversy this week when it was revealed that her talk show would resume filming episodes so it could return for its new season on Monday September 18. The move is seen as a violation of the ongoing writers strike, prompting WGA East to picket outside CBS Studios in New York where The Drew Barrymore Show is taped.
The situation worsened when it was revealed that audience members with WGA pins were forced to leave the studio and there were reports that bags were being searched. All in all it was not a great look for Barrymore who had been sitting on a seemingly endless supply of goodwill, particularly after her decision to drop out as host of the MTV Movie & TV Awards when the strike first started.
In response to the backlash, Barrymore posted an emotional apology video on Instagram where she attempted to defuse the situation.
Drew Barrymore apologizes for bringing back her talk show during the writers’ strike and explains why she is doing it:
“We aren’t gonna 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… pic.twitter.com/Mqb4chyKzp
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 15, 2023
Via Variety:
“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,” she said through tears.
“I deeply apologize to writers. I deeply apologize to unions,” Barrymore said.
“There’s a huge question of the why — why am I doing this?” she continued. “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.”
Commenters on Instagram were quick to note that Barrymore is still continuing with her show, and the apology is already not going over well.
“Still moving forward while your own writers are outside picketing? disappointed. apologies don’t mean anything without action,” one user wrote.
“Doubling down on something you’re apologizing for seems counterproductive,” another user commented. “See the mistake, listen to the people supporting Unions, stop your show & join them.”
“I was so hopeful that this was a video of you announcing that you were stepping away from your show and joining your writers on the picket line,” wrote Ever Carridine. “I am such a fan of yours, as an artist and as a human, but I will never understand your choice to cross a picket line.”
(Via Variety)
Source: https://uproxx.com/tv/drew-barrymore-apology-video-wga-strike-talk-show-returning/