The Hollywood actors’ strike officially begins tomorrow and SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said they are being “victimized by a greedy entity” during an emotional press conference.
While standing beside National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, The Nanny star gave an impactful speech regarding the “shocking” treatment actors have been receiving from studio executives.
Drescher began her speech by pointing out the ongoing “problem” in Hollywood.
“This is a very seminal hour for us. I went in thinking that we would be able to avert a strike. The gravity of this move is not lost on me,” the actress said, according to Deadline. “It’s a very serious thing that impacts thousands, if not millions of people all across this country and around the world. Not only members of this union, but people who work in other industries that service the people that work in this industry.”
She later emphasized that actors “had no choice” but to go on strike.
“We are the victims here,” she continued. “We are being victimized by a very greedy entity.”
She went on to call out the way studio execs have treated actors.
“I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history,” Drescher added.
She went on to say that actors can’t keep being “marginalized, disrespected and dishonored.”
“If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble. We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines and big business,” she said.
