In Los Angeles and New York City, striking actors are chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, corporate greed’s got to go!”
Heat wave be damned, television and film stars have been grabbing their signs and heading out to the picket lines since the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced they were joining the Writers Guild of America in striking over wages and assurances regarding the use of artificial intelligence.
On Monday, Hilary Duff gave “Lizzie McGuire” fans a blast from the past when she was captured singing along to “What Dreams Are Made Of” while picketing outside of Paramount Studios in L.A. with “How I Met Your Father” castmates Francia Raísa and Tien Tran. Duff first sang the song in 2003’s “The Lizzie McGuire Movie.”
“Out there [picketing] with my girls. We stand with our union! Let’s gooooooo,” Duff captioned several photos and videos shared to Instagram.
Jason Sudeikis was another A-lister who braved the heat to strike in front of NBC Universal offices at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York. The “Ted Lasso” star was surrounded by fellow actors chanting “What do we want? Contracts! When do we want ‘em? Now!” When CNN asked why he was striking, he replied, “Just listen. That says it all.”
And asked how long he’s willing to picket, he said, “As long as it takes.”
Kevin Bacon and wife Kyra Sedgwick were also spotted standing in solidarity with fellow SAG-AFTRA guild members picketing in New York City.
On Thursday, Bacon posted a video of himself on Instagram in which he’s toting a sign and chanting “Actors and writers unite, we’ve got to win this fight!”
On Friday, Bacon and Sedgwick spoke with Deadline about their support for the strike.
“I’m happy it’s happening because I think it’s been a long time coming,” Sedgwick said. “The studios have been making a lot of free money for a really long time, and the time for that to come to an end is now.”
Between the two cities, “Crazy Rich Asians” actor Awkwafina, “Ashoka” star Rosario Dawson, “Bones” alum David Boreanaz, “Better Call Saul” star Bob Odenkirk and “Vampire Diaries” star Nina Dobrev were also among the famous faces spotted exercising their labor-union rights. In various videos, Abba’s “Money, Money, Money” and Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” could be heard playing from speakers set up on the streets.
Laci Mosley, who plays Harper on “iCarly,” tweeted photos and videos Tuesday of the series’ cast — including Miranda Cosgrove, who stars as Carly — dancing and singing the series’ theme song, “Leave It All to Me,” while striking.
“MOST don’t make the minimums to get insurance, 26k a year for #SAG & 41k for #WGA,” Mosley wrote on Twitter. “You’re seeing a lot of famous people striking which looks privileged but we not trying to get Gwyneth Paltrow more Goop. We’re fighting for the livelyhood [sic] of working class actors & writers. #iCarly”
And “Thelma and Louise” legend Susan Sarandon spoke with the Daily Mail from the picket lines, explaining, “We’re in an old contract for a new type of business, and it’s just not working for most people.
“I’m here because I’m in the SAG-AFTRA union, I’m also here because of the writer’s union and the corporate greed that the studios show has made it very difficult for people to have lives,” she continued. “The issues of streaming and A.I. are things that have to be dealt with now.”
