Ron Perlman has walked back some viral comments he made about studio executives, amid the ongoing double strike of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. In an Instagram Live on Friday, Perlman had shared a passionate response to a recent report alleging that members of the AMPTP want to delay further negotiations until union members “start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” at one point warning the unnamed executive cited in the piece to “be careful” or they might lose their own home through other means. Over the weekend, Perlman took to social media to share a new video, in which he makes it clear that he does not wish “anybody any harm.”
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“With the announcement of the actors going out on strike this morning, I took to Instagram Live to give a background of my experience as a guild member and to give some of my reactions to the current events while we find ourselves in this situation,” Perlman explained. “In the aftermath of that, there has been a lot of reaction, mainly because at one point, admittedly, I got quite heated because I was talking about a quote from one of the executives on the other side of the negations talking about how they planned to not even begin negotiating until writers and actors started losing their houses and their apartments.”
“And so you can imagine my reaction to somebody wishing that kind of harm on people in the very same industry that they call their own would engender a response, so let me make something very clear right now: I don’t wish anybody any harm,” Perlman continued. “I hope the asshole who made that comment also doesn’t wish anybody any harm, but when you start going around and saying we’re not even going to bargain with these f-cking dickheads until they start f-cking bleeding and their families start bleeding… I mean, if you want to talk about some of the shit that makes people so cynical and so pissed off with our current climate, I mean this strike is just sort of… it’s a symptom of a struggle that’s way bigger than the strike itself. It’s a symptom of the soullessness of corporate America and how everything has become corporatized in this country.”
What Did Ron Perlman Say About the SAG-AFTRA Strike?
Perlman’s comments, which you can find below, quickly caught attention on social media on Friday.
“One thing, before I get off this … the motherf-cker who said we’re gonna keep this thing going until people start losing their houses and their apartments,” Perlman said in the Instagram Live. “Listen to me, motherf-cker, there’s a lot of ways to lose your house. Some of it is financial, some of it is karma, and some of it is just figuring out who the f-ck said that — and we know who said that — and where he f-cking lives. There’s a lot of ways to lose your house. You wish that on people, you wish that families starve, while you’re making $27 f-cking million a year for creating nothing? Be careful, motherf-cker. Be really careful, ’cause that’s the kind of sh-t that stirs sh-t up. Peace out.”
Why Are SAG-AFTRA Going on Strike?
In a statement tied to the announcement, SAG-AFTRA representatives revealed that the strike is commencing after four weeks of negotiations with the AMPTP, and an existing negotiation extension from June 30th to July 12th. Back in May, SAG-AFTRA’s national board unanimously agreed to send an authorization vote to members, with and 97.91 percent of members ultimately voting in favor to authorize.
“Yesterday our union celebrated the 90th anniversary of the incorporation of Screen Actors Guild,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator said during a press conference. “During our nearly century long existence we’ve fought for and achieved countless gains for working actors. Today, we embark on a new important chapter in our unions history. Earlier this morning, the SAG-AFTRA national board convened following four weeks of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers in a meeting, because AMPTP remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on key issues essential to protecting the livelihoods of working actors and performers. SAG AFTRA as national board unanimously voted to issue a strike order against the studios and streamers.”
What do you think of Ron Perlman’s latest comments regarding the WGA and SAG strikes? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!