Drew Barrymore is announcing the return of her talk show amid the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes.
The actress — who has hosted The Drew Barrymore Show since 2020 — released a statement on Sunday about her decision to bring back her daytime show.
“I made a choice to walk away from the MTV, film and television awards because I was the host and it had a direct conflict with what the strike was dealing with, which was studios, streamers, film, and television,” she wrote on Instagram.
Continued Barrymore, 48, “It was also in the first week of the strike and so I did what I thought was the appropriate thing at the time to stand in solidarity with the writers.”
She also made it clear that production on her talk show’s third season finished April 20, which was before the Writers Guild of America (WGA)’s strike began on May 2.
The WGA, who represent over 1,000 writers across television, film, news and online media, have been on strike for issues such as better pay, limits on artificial intelligence (AI) and increased residuals.
Like the WGA, after failed contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) also announced its own strike in July.
“I own this choice,” Barrymore added in her statement. “We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind.”
The actress went on to state that her talk show, which was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, “was built for sensitive times and has only functioned through what the real world is going through in real time.”
“I want to be there to provide what writers do so well, which is a way to bring us together or help us make sense of the human experience,” she added, concluding, “I hope for a resolve for everyone as soon as possible. We have navigated difficult times since we first came on air. And so I take a step forward to start season 4 once again with an astute humility.”
Barrymore’s decision to bring back her talk show has been met with backlash, with fans stating that it goes against the strike and that they will be picketing outside her show’s studios in New York.
“The @DrewBarrymoreTV Show is a WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers,” The Writers Guild of America, East wrote on X , formerly known as Twitter.
“The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike,” they added, claiming, “Any writing on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ is in violation of WGA strike rules.”
Others supported Barrymore’s decision, with one comment on her Instagram post reading, “I stand with @drewbarrymore. This is a huge leap that she is taking a brave stance and for those naysayers who want to write on her page with negative comments about her I say take a hike.”
