Days after deciding to resume production on her daytime talk show, actor Drew Barrymore (E.T., Never Been Kissed) has announced The Drew Barrymore Show will halt production until after the strike, according to Deadline. Barrymore was currently filming the fourth season amidst both labor strikes and had set a September 18 premiere date. She announced the change of course on Instagram this morning.
“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore said via Deadline. “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.” See the full post below.
Barrymore received initial backlash for her decision to resume new episodes of the show, which had been dormant since the writers’ strike began in May. The Writers Guild of America East issued an initial statement condemning Barrymore for the choice.
“It has stayed off the air since the strike began on May 2nd but has now (unfortunately) decided to return without its writers,” a spokesperson from the union group stated in a statement via The Hollywood Reporter. “The Guild has, and will continue to, picket any struck show that continues production for the duration of the strike.”
Picketers kept their word and showed up outside the studios last Monday, where two audience members were allegedly dismissed from the taping for wearing WGA pins they received from strikers outside.
Backlash surmounted in the following days, leading to Barrymore having her offer to host the National Book Awards rescinded. Barrymore issued a tear-filled apology in video posted on social media last Friday. Despite her remorse, she stated the show would continue filming.
“I certainly couldn’t have expected this kind of attention,” Barrymore stated in the now-deleted video via The Hollywood Reporter. “We aren’t gonna break rules, and we will be in compliance. I wanted to do this because as I said, this is bigger than me, and there are other people’s jobs on the line.”
According to Deadline, a spokesperson for the show’s producers, CBS Media Ventures, issued a statement supporting Barrymore’s new choice saying, “We support Drew’s decision to pause the show’s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her.” CBS Media Ventures had initially defended Barrymore last Friday.
ABC’s The View along with CBS’s The Talk recently resumed filming as well as The Jennifer Hudson Show and Sherri.
The WGA has been on strike since May while SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, ceased work in July. According to Deadline, the writers are to resume talks with the AMPTP – the organization that represents the studios – this week.