Actress and presenter Drew Barrymore attracted criticism for breaking the strike of American actors and screenwriters and as a result lost her job as presenter of the National Book Awards, which takes place this Friday (15).
“The National Book Awards is a night dedicated to celebrating the power of literature and the incomparable contributions of writers to our culture,” the organization said in a statement.
“In light of the announcement that ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ will resume production, the National Book Foundation has rescinded Ms. Barrymore’s invitation to emcee the 74th National Book Awards Ceremony,” the statement read.
“Our commitment is to ensure that the focus of the awards remains on celebrating writers and books, and we are grateful to Mrs Barrymore and her team for their understanding in this situation”, concludes the foundation.
An update on the host of the 2023 National Book Awards. pic.twitter.com/aa5aLh0FIU
— National Book Foundation (@nationalbook) September 12, 2023
The National Book Award is one of the most important literary awards in the United States, given annually to the best books written by living North American citizens.
Drew recently announced that the fourth season of his talk show is scheduled to begin airing next Monday (18). She made a post on Instagram on Sunday (10), stating that she was resuming the program.
“However, I am also making the choice to return for the first time this strike to our show, which may have my name on it, but this is bigger than just me. I have that choice. We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting films and television that are targeted in any way,” she states.
“I hope a resolution for everyone as soon as possible. We’ve been through some tough times since we went live. And so I step forward to start season 4 once again”, he concludes.
According to the British website “The Independent”, the resumption of the talk show does not cause inherent problems for the actors association, which is also on strike, as daytime talk shows are governed by a different contract than the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA).
SAG-AFTRA issued a statement assuring that the return of the talk show did not constitute an assault.
“’The Drew Barrymore Show’ is produced under the Network Television Code, which is a separate contract and is not on strike. It is permitted work and Drew’s role as host does not violate current strike rules.”
Drew’s show, however, employs at least three writers who are members of the writers’ guild, which has been on strike since early May. These writers picketed in front of the CBS Broadcast building, the station that broadcasts the program, this Monday (11).
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) – an alliance of two unions representing more than 11,000 film, television, news, radio and online writers – went on strike on May 2, demanding higher wages and a stable salary structure , as well as fairer agreements, contracts and provisions on artificial intelligence, among other demands.
Source: CNN Brasil
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