SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher Slams "Tone Deaf" Disney CEO Bob Iger

By Jamie Jirak

The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May, and now the actor's guild SAG-AFTRA is also on strike. The negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) officially broke down with no deal in place and tensions remain high between studios and creatives. The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger recently said that the SAG strike is "not realistic," calling it "disturbing" and claiming it will have a "very, very damaging effect on the whole business." Today, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher spoke out against Iger during an interview with Variety while on the strike picket lines. 

"I found them terribly repugnant and out of touch. Positively tone deaf," Drescher said of Iger's comments. "I don't think it served him well. If I were that company, I would lock him behind doors and never let him talk to anybody about this, because it's so obvious that he has no clue as to what is really happening on the ground with hard-working people that don't make anywhere near the salary he is making. High seven figures, eight figures, this is crazy money that they make, and they don't care if they're land barons of a medieval time."

Why Is SAG-AFTRA Striking?

In a statement tied to the strike 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 of authorization.

"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."

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Fran Drescher Hopes Audiences Will See That SAG Strike Is Necessary: 

"What makes you think they're not interested in what's happening here?" Drescher said during the SAG-AFTRA press conference announcing the strike. "I think that they have an allegiance to all of us because we bring joy to their lives, and during COVID, they turned to us for everything. So I don't think that your assumption that they don't really care about anything but being entertained over the summer is the bottom line, when the people that give so much to them and enrich their lives in so many ways, are saying, 'We are being taken advantage of in a terrible way.' And if we let this happen to us, dollars for doughnuts, it's gonna happen to you and your family, your children, and everybody that you work with too. That's how threatening this moment is in our nation's history."

What are your thoughts on the SAG strike? Tell us in the comments. 

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