Ryan Murphy, TV producer and creator of popular programs such as American Horror Story and Glee, has launched the Ryan Murphy Productions Assistance Fund to help entertainment workers during the ongoing WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes. The fund is starting at $500,000 in order to “support the exceptional casts and committed crews” of the Murphy’s shows.
Murphy launched the foundation in an announcement on Instagram. He wrote in the caption “Every story we’ve woven, each character brought to life, and every set constructed carry with them an inimitable thread of collaboration. As my colleagues face the challenges brought forth by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the imperative to support each other is even more pronounced.”
As the strike continues, many big-name producers and directors are making sure that their writers and actors are still being helped. Throughout the strike, late-night TV hosts Seth Meyers (Late Night with Seth Meyers), Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), John Oliver (The Daily Show, Community), Stephen Colbert (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) and Jimmy Fallon (The Tonight Show) have come together to create a podcast titled Strike Team 5 to benefit their striking staffers, while others, such as Murphy, are directly donating to relief funds. In May when the writers first began to strike, Murphy was one of the top showrunners to collectively contribute $1.7 million to the Entertainment Community Fund. With this, several well-known actors are joining picket lines with their casts, speaking out on social media, and using their platforms to emphasize the importance of the strike.
Murphy has had a lot of eyes on him since the strike began due to the continuation of his productions in New York even after the strike had begun. But, these recent actions of starting the fund have eased concerns. “Together, we will navigate through this chapter, and before long, we’ll once again create, inspire, and innovate within the industry we love,” Murphy wrote in the Instagram post announcing the fund. Murphy is ready to help out his workers and make sure that they see the change that they are asking for in the industry.