MTV Movie & TV Awards Go Pre-taped Due to Writers Strike; Jennifer Coolidge, Drew Barrymore, Pedro Pascal and Others Show Support
The writers are on a strike which forced the MTV Movie & TV Awards to rely on old clip and since Drew Barrymore dropped out as a host in support of writers as well, there was also no host. Besides Drew, other celebs have come out in support of the strike as well.
The 2023 MTV Film & TV Awards, which was derailed by the US writers' strike and forced to turn into a non-live event, saw many expressions of support for the striking writers, from entertainment celebrities, according to Variety. The White Lotus' star Jennifer Coolidge, who received the Comedic Genius Award, was the first person to reference the strike in her pre-recorded speech, and threw her support behind the Writers Guild of America (WGA), reports Variety. "Almost all great comedy starts with great writers, and as a proud member of SAG [Screen Actors Guild], I stand here before you tonight side-by-side with my sisters and brothers from the WGA, who are fighting for the rights of artistes everywhere," Coolidge said, according to Variety. MTV Movie and TV Awards 2023 Winners: The Last of Us, Scream VI Win Big at the Show; Tom Cruise and Pedro Pascal Take Home the Acting Award Honors - See Full List.
She added: "I think of the words of Shakespeare where he once said, 'The play is the thing.' Well, I don't want to put words in his mouth or anything, but I think what he really meant was it's everything." Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn also shouted out for the striking writers, saying, "Being a writer is a hard job and it deserves respect." The stars of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, adds Variety, threw their support behind the WGA, ending their Best Competition Series speech by saying, "We Queens stand with the writers in their strike." Drew Barrymore Drops Out of Hosting MTV Movie & TV Awards in Support of Writers Strike.
And while accepting the Golden Popcorn for Best Show for The Last of Us, Pedro Pascal said that the show's creative team is "standing in solidarity with the WGA, that is fighting very hard for fair wages." The first big expression of support for the strike came from Drew Barrymore, who stepped down as presenter of the show. After that, the show's producers were still hopeful of pulling off some sort of live event sans host. But when the WGA announced it would picket the event on Sunday, the producers gave up and announced that the show would shift to a pre-taped event format, notes Variety.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 08, 2023 07:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).