Joan Rivers has been charged by WGA East for her involvement on E!’s Fashion Police and has spoken out in a statement, reportedly saying, “This is such a bunch of bulls—t,” according to Variety.
While the WGA East has not officially made a statement about Rivers, the charges “appear to be for violation of the guild’s Working Rule 8, which prohibits working on a show not signed to a WGA agreement,” noted The Hollywood Reporter.
Michael Winship, president of the Writer’s Guild said, “The question of whether (Rivers) has, in fact, violated our working rules will be decided by the trial board. We cannot pre-judge the outcome, but we can say that it is a very serious matter when a member is accused of writing and showrunning on a noncovered show and continuing to do so after the other writers have decided to go on strike for reasonable pay and benefits,” quoted The Hollywood Reporter.
Fashion Police writers have been on strike since April, when they claimed they were owed over $1 million for “back wages and overtime.” In her statement, Rivers said, “E! should hire Anthony Weiner to work with these people. He’d fit right in,” according to Deadline.
Variety reported the union claimed, “The writers on that show are paid a fraction of industry-standard compensation and receive no health or pension benefits.” Winship also said, ““We are distressed by reports that Joan Rivers, who worked so hard to create an illustrious career, turned her back on other writers who are still building careers of their own.”