Jean Smart Calls for Networks Not to Air Awards Shows, Donate to L.A. Fire Victims Instead

Jean Smart is asking that Hollywood suspend its awards show season amid the deadly Los Angeles wildfires. In a message shared to Instagram Wednesday as multiple fires continue to scorch the L.A. area, the Hacks star and Golden Globe winner, 73, urged TV networks to cancel their upcoming telecasts of Hollywood awards shows and instead donate the revenue to the victims of the fires.

“Attention! With ALL due respect, during Hollywood’s season of celebration, I hope any of the networks televising the upcoming awards will seriously consider NOT televising them and donating the revenue they would have garnered to victims of the fires and the firefighters,” Smart, who won a Golden Globe Sunday for her role in Hacks, wrote.

Smart, who did not name any specific awards shows, issued her plea as several major Hollywood events have already been impacted by the fires, which have scorched thousands of acres of land across Southern California, including the Pacific Palisades and Hollywood Hills. This weekend’s Critics Choice Awards, initially scheduled to be hosted by Chelsea Handler at Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar on Sunday, have been postponed until Sunday, Jan. 26 and will be broadcast on E!.

“This unfolding tragedy has already had a profound impact on our community. All our thoughts and prayers are with those battling the devastating fires and with all who have been affected,” Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin said in a statement.

Earlier this week, the SAG Awards canceled its live, in-person nominations announcement. Numerous other events, including the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Tea Party and the AFI Awards luncheon, were either canceled or postponed, and the red carpet premieres of movies like Unstoppable, The Last Showgirl, and Wolf Man have been canceled.

Smart’s message also came the same day that announced that production on Hacks’ upcoming season has been suspended due to the fires. NBCUniversal also suspended production on Loot, Ted, Suits: L.A., and Happy’s Place. Production came to a halt on numerous other series, too, including Amazon’s Fallout Season 2; CBS’ After Midnight, NCIS, NCIS: Origins, The Neighborhood, and The Price Is Right; ABC’s Doctor Odyssey, Grey’s Anatomy, and Jimmy Kimmel Live; among numerous others.

The production halts came as FilmLA, the permitting agency for shoots in Los Angeles, issued a notification that “personnel resources ordinarily available to support film production may not be available during the local State of Emergency.” The statement added, “The LA County Fire Department has specifically instructed that all permits issued for filming in the communities of Altadena, La Crescenta, La Canada/Flintridge and unincorporated Pasadena are withdrawn. Other permit revocations are possible.”