Home | WebMail | Register or Login

      Calgary | Regions | Local Traffic Report | Advertise on Action News | Contact

Sign Up

Sign Up

Please fill this form to create an account.

Already have an account? Login here.

Posted: 2023-08-02T19:33:31Z | Updated: 2023-08-02T19:33:31Z

Following the lead of Dwayne The Rock Johnson, more A-listers have decided to put their money where their mouth is and write big checks to help out their fellow union members on strike.

Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are among the celebrities who recently donated $1 million or more to the SAG-AFTRA Foundations Emergency Financial Assistance fund, the foundations president, actor Courtney B. Vance, announced Wednesday .

The fund has been providing financial support to out-of-work members of the Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, who have been on strike since mid-July. They joined the 11,500 film and TV members of the Writers Guild of America East and West, who have been on strike for exactly three months as of Wednesday. (HuffPosts unionized staff are also represented by the WGA East.)

The two historic strikes, over issues such as fair pay and improved working conditions in the streaming era and protections around the use of artificial intelligence , have effectively shut down the entertainment industry. Hollywood studio executives failure to reach a deal with each union has left many writers, actors and other entertainment industry workers in dire financial straits.

In a press release Wednesday announcing the donations, Vance said he had appealed to A-list members of the union to pony up and help their fellow SAG-AFTRA members. Johnson was the first to step up, making a seven-figure contribution last week .

Since then, more A-list donations have poured in, and according to Vance, the foundation has now raised over $15 million to help striking actors in need. The full list of celebrities who have donated $1 million or more is below.

George and Amal Clooney

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck

Luciana and Matt Damon

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively

Leonardo DiCaprio

Julia Roberts

Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Dwayne Johnson

Meryl Streep

Nicole Kidman

Oprah Winfrey

The entertainment industry is in crisis and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation is currently processing more than 30 times our usual number of applications for emergency aid. We received 400 applications in the last week alone. Our Emergency Financial Assistance Program is here to ensure that performers in need dont lose their homes, have the ability to pay for utilities, buy food for their families, purchase life-saving prescriptions, cover medical bills and more, Vance said Wednesday, adding that this work stoppage magnifies the precarious living conditions and financial distress of many actors living paycheck to paycheck.

In the same press release, Streep said of her donation: I remember my days as a waiter, cleaner, typist, even my time on the unemployment line. In this strike action, I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath. We will stand strong together against these powerful corporations who are bent on taking the humanity, the human dignity, even the human out of our profession. I am proudest of my fellow actors who have immediately offered to fund the Emergency Financial Assistance Program.