In a surprising turn of events, Drew Barrymore has decided to postpone the return of her daytime talk show, “The Drew Barrymore Show,” until the ongoing labor strike comes to a resolution. This decision comes in the wake of significant criticism the actor faced for initially planning to premiere the show on September 18 without the participation of writers, in accordance with WGA guidelines.
On Instagram, Barrymore shared her change of heart, stating, “I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over.” She continued, “I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today. We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”
Barrymore’s initial decision to proceed with the taping of her talk show amid the ongoing labor strikes in Hollywood drew swift backlash. In the aftermath, the National Book Awards revoked its invitation for Barrymore to host its upcoming annual award ceremony.
It’s worth noting that as long as hosts or guests do not discuss or promote struck work, Barrymore would not have been in violation of SAG-AFTRA rules. The Network Code agreement permits daytime hosts to fulfill their hosting duties under these circumstances. However, “The Drew Barrymore Show” operates with union writers, meaning that producing new episodes would necessitate the hiring of non-WGA members or potentially having no writers at all to script the show.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) had condemned Barrymore’s original decision in a statement, asserting, “Drew Barrymore should not be on the air while her writers are on strike fighting for a fair deal. In reality, shows like this cannot operate without writing, and that is struck work.”
Interestingly, other talk shows, including “The Jennifer Hudson Show” and “The Talk,” have also announced plans to resume production while writers and actors continue their strike. Notably, morning talk shows like “Live With Kelly and Mark” and “Tamron Hall Show” have returned this season without writers, and they fall outside the purview of the WGA.
Barrymore addressed the controversy in a now-deleted video, acknowledging her role in the decision to bring back her show. “I certainly couldn’t have expected this kind of attention,” she expressed. “I wanted to do this because, as I said, this is bigger than me, and there are other people’s jobs on the line.”
