President Joe Biden (D) has officially thrown his support behind Hollywood writers who are currently striking against the studios, saying “storytellers” must be treated with “dignity” and “respect.”
Biden spoke Monday during a White House screening of a Disney+ documentary.
“Nights like these are a reminder of stories and the importance of treating storytellers with dignity, respect and the value they deserve,” Biden said, his voice sounding tired and somewhat horse. “I sincerely hope the writers’ strike in Hollywood gets resolved and the writers are given a fair deal they deserve as soon as possible.”
Following applause, he added: “This is an iconic, meaningful American industry. And we need the writers and all the workers and everyone involved to tell the stories of our nation and the stories of all of us.”
"I sincerely hope the strike gets resolved, and writers are given a fair deal as soon as possible. This is an iconic, meaningful American industry & we need the writers—and all the workers—to tell the stories of our nation, and the stories of all of us." – @POTUS #WGAStrong #1u pic.twitter.com/cyH7HrTK6G
— Writers Guild of America East (@WGAEast) May 9, 2023
During the 2020 presidential race, the Writers Guild of America, West’s political action committee endorsed the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ticket. The WGAW’s PAC raised $286,000 for federal and state candidates that year – with all of the money going to Democrats.
Guild leaders repeatedly denounced former President Donald Trump throughout his term in office, variously calling him a “sociopath” and claiming he “disgraces our nation.”
The Writers Guild of America declared a strike last week after the union failed to reach a new contract with Hollywood studios, throwing numerous TV shows and streaming series into jeopardy. The first casualties were the late-night comedy shows, including those hosted by left-wing comedians Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon.
