'The View' Lost Major Guest Over Writers' Strike
The View recently lost a major guest over the WGA writers' strike. The Hill reports that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was set to make an appearance on the ABC talk show this Wednesday, but canceled in support of the strike. "Out of respect for striking writers, we pulled down our scheduled appearance on The View," a White House official told the outlet.
"President Biden and his entire administration sincerely hope that the writers' strike gets resolved – and writers are given the fair deal they deserve – as soon as possible," the official added. The Hill reports that the current administration made the decision after learning that The View employs members of the Writers' Guild of America. The show later scrubbed all mentions of Jean-Pierre's canceled appearance from their social media. Notably, in May, President Biden expressed his support for the strike, saying that he hopes a fair deal is reached "as soon as possible."
The Writers Guild of America strike began on May 2 and currently has no end date. The organization represents more than 11,000 Hollywood TV and movie writers. The strike was the result of the WGA not reaching an acceptable agreement after six weeks of wage negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. "Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal – and though your strike vote gave us the leverage to make some gains – the studios' responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing," the negotiating committee wrote in a letter to members, per VOX. "The companies' behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing."
This is not the first time the strike has had an impact on a guest of The View. Earlier this month, actor Dermot Mulroney made an appearance but ended his interview in a walkout. Entertainment Weekly reports that, in solidarity with the WGA writer's strike, Mulroney respectfully exited the show's June 23 episode after discussing his most current project. Sources close to the situation have said that there was no tension between The View panelists and the actor.
"Are we going to break? Okay, sorry, first, I want to do this symbolically, in support and solidarity with the writers, I'm going to walk off your show," Mulroney said as he left, adding, "Thank you, I'll see you on the picket lines in July!" He later issued a statement, explaining, "Since I have such respect for The View, a news program with a heart, it was there that I felt comfortable enough to draw attention to the ongoing WGA strike for fair wages and working hours. I find it incredibly important to continue to support the union."