Drew Barrymore Halts Production on Talk Show After Backlash: ‘Deepest Apologies’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Drew Barrymore has halted production on THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW after facing backlash for resuming the talk show during the WGA strike.
“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore posted on Instagram. “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.”
A CBS spokesperson said, “We support Drew’s decision to pause the show’s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her.”
The actress has previously planned to continue shooting episodes of THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW without her striking writing staff. She explained her decision in a now-deleted Instagram video.
“I don’t exactly know what to say because sometimes when things are so tough it’s hard to make decisions from that place,” she said. “I wanted to [resume production] because, as I said, this is bigger than me and there are other people’s jobs on the line.”
“I’ve been through so many ups and downs in my life, and this is one of them. I deeply apologize to writers. I deeply apologize to unions. I deeply apologize,” she added in the deleted video.
Variety reported that THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW will air reruns until the strike ends.
Movieguide® previously reported on Barrymore’s decision to continue working on THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW:
After Drew Barrymore announced that her talk show would return, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) clarified that she is breaking guidelines and those working on the show are violating the strike.
“THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW’s WGA writers, fans, and our union allies held the picket line for 8+ hours outside of CBS. The Guild has, and will continue, to picket shows that are in production during the strike. Any writing on THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW is in violation of WGA strike rules,” the union said on Monday.
Barrymore announced previously that she is returning to her show but would honor the ongoing strikes by avoiding work covered by the strikes.
MSN reported, ”Whether WGA-covered shows returning without writers violates strike rules is the subject of debate—some critics have called the return of these shows a ‘moral violation’ of the strikes and believe production of these shows cannot occur without anybody completing writing work, which would be forbidden by the strike rules.”
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