Joe Biden Has Weighed In On The Writer’s Strike
President Joe Biden wants a swift and fair resolution to the writers strike.
Many politicians, news reporters, and Hollywood stars have shared their thoughts on the ongoing writers strike that has been dominating the news, and now President Joe Biden has weighed in as well. On Monday, the President told reporters that he hopes the strike will be resolved soon, and that writers should be given a fair deal like they deserve. The crowd at The White House cheered in response to Joe Biden’s positive outlook, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Writers Guild of America strike began on May 2 and is still going strong eight days later. The strike began after Hollywood writers tried to negotiate better pay from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, but their needs were unmet.
The influx of streaming services and the shortening of TV shows has caused writers to earn less and less while studios are earning more and more. Over the past 10 years, studio profits have gone up by 39 percent while a writer’s salary has decreased by 4 percent (on average). With all of the time, effort, and creativity that is put into writing, it’s a shame that some writers are not being properly compensated for their work.
On Monday, Joe Biden welcomed Disney executives to The White House to screen the new Disney+ series American Born Chinese. The President took this opportunity to share his thoughts on the writers’ strike, showing that he is an ally.
Other allies, in addition to Joe Biden, who are showing their support for Hollywood writers include big-name celebrities like Rob Lowe, Snoop Dogg, and Jay Leno. Actor Rob Lowe joined his son John Owen on the picket line while Jay Leno showed up to provide the peaceful picketers with donuts. Snoop Dogg voiced his concerns that writers and musicians can’t make a living off of their creativity and need to support themselves with other jobs to pay the bills.
The strike is impacting many shows, especially late-night talk shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, which rely heavily on their daily material from fast, clever writers. Saturday Night Live has also gone cold turkey, only showing reruns for the time being. Luckily, the second season of Amazon’s Rings of Power is not being impacted by the strike since the scripts were already written prior to the start of production.
The last writers’ strike took place over the course of 100 days in 2007-08, back before Joe Biden was in The White House. The strike ended up costing the California economy at least $2 billion, impacting the television and film industry as well as the overall economy in Los Angeles. The strike interrupted popular shows like Heroes, Lost, and Breaking Bad before writers were able to negotiate fair pay for their hard work.
There is hope that Yellowstone’s creator and writer Taylor Sheridan will help bring an end to the writer strike thanks to his pull in the industry, which may even be greater than that of President Joe Biden. If not, then we may need to buckle up for a few more weeks until writers get the fair payment they deserve.
