Drew Barrymore resumes talk show amid SAG/WGA strike: ‘I own this choice’

Drew Barrymore announced her return to her daytime talk show amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Her decision comes after she turned down hosting at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in support of the Writers Guild of America, which went on strike in May to fight for a new contract that meets their demands for better pay, success-based residuals for streaming content and rules regarding the use of artificial intelligence.

“I chose to walk away from the MTV, Movie and TV Awards because I was the host and it was in direct conflict with what the strike was about, which was studios, streamers, film and TV,” Barrymore said in one statement sent to Instagram on Sunday. “It was also in the first week of the strike and so I did what I thought was appropriate at the time to stand in solidarity with the writers.”

After Barrymore’s announcement, the Writer’s Guild of America said they would be picking up the talk show at its studio at the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan on Monday.

“The Drew Barrymore Show is a WGA-covered, stricken show that plans to return without its writers,” WGA tweeted. “The Guild has, and will continue to, strike shows that are in production during the strike. Any writing about ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ violates WGA strike rules.”

In her statement, Barrymore insisted her talk show, set to return on September 18 for its fourth season, would abide by the rules of the strike. “I own this choice,” she said. “We don’t adhere to discussing or promoting movies and TV that are affected in any way. We launched live in a global pandemic. Our show was built for sensitive times and has only worked through what the real world is going through in real-time. “

“I hope for a resolution for everyone as soon as possible,” Barrymore added. “We’ve navigated difficult times since we first went on the air. So I’m taking a step forward to start Season 4 again with astute humility.”

Editor’s note: Paramount+ and CBS News and Stations are part of Paramount Global, one of the companies affected by the strike. Some CBS News employees are WGA and SAG-AFTRA members but work under different contracts than the striking writers and actors.