Surprise Gesture by Damon and Affleck Amid Hollywood Strikes
Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s team received a surprising offer from actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck amidst the ongoing Hollywood strikes. Kimmel, during the debut episode of the “Strike Force Five” podcast, shared that Affleck and Damon had reached out and offered to personally pay their staff for two weeks. The proposal was to give each staff member a week’s salary out of their own pockets.
However, Kimmel declined their offer, believing that it wasn’t their responsibility. Kimmel, along with fellow late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver, launched the podcast to support their staff during the strikes. Colbert playfully suggested that Damon and Affleck could have just said yes and contributed their money to the cause.
Another celebrity, Ryan Reynolds, was mentioned for supporting their staff financially. Reynolds offered Mint Mobile service for free for a year to their staff, as Mint Mobile is one of the podcast’s sponsors.
Support for Hollywood Strikes Grows
The Hollywood elite have shown their solidarity with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike by joining fellow union members on picket lines. In a July vote, the labor union, representing over 160,000 TV and film actors, decided to strike due to stalled negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
The Writers Guild of America’s strike for fair pay, which began in May, has caused late-night shows to go off the air. Negotiations for new contracts between the Writers Guild and the AMPTP, representing major media companies like Amazon, Apple, Disney, Netflix, and others, are ongoing. The American Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) also joined the strike in July, leading to the shutdown of many Hollywood productions.
Damon’s Important Views Before the Strike
Just days before the SAG-AFTRA strike started, Matt Damon, known for his playful “feud” with Jimmy Kimmel, expressed the significance of the movement. At the London premiere of “Oppenheimer” on July 12, Damon highlighted the importance of residual payments for healthcare. He emphasized that if these payments decrease, healthcare becomes a concern, which is unacceptable. Damon stressed the need to find a fair solution to support those dependent on residual payments.
Continuation Amid Strikes
While the strikes have impacted the entertainment industry, some TV shows and movies with completed scripts or produced by companies not affiliated with AMPTP have received permission to continue filming. A similar rule applies to actors, granting them waivers to promote independent projects. As a result, actors like Adam Driver and Jessica Chastain are able to participate in events like the 2023 Venice Film Festival.
In a time of industry challenges, gestures of support and resilience continue to emerge from various corners of Hollywood.