Joe Biden: I sincerely hope the writers are given a fair deal that they deserve

As the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike enters its second week, it honestly seems like support is only growing in favor of the picketers. This is great news because I’m hearing some scary predications about how long it could last. Remember that not everyone marching has an employer who went to bat for them and every day of striking is a day without pay. So how amazing is it that the most powerful voice in this country spoke out in favor of the writers? President Joe Biden was just about to sit down to a nice screening of Disney’s American Born Chinese series (in honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month) when he told the crowd he hoped the writers in Hollywood get the, “fair deal that they deserve.” Disney cast, producers and execs were in the audience and, if they know what’s good for them, said yes sir.

President Biden is weighing in on the Writers Guild of America strike that has put Hollywood on pause.

Giving remarks before a White House screening of the Disney+ series American Born Chinese, Biden told the crowd (which included the cast and producers of the show, as well as some Disney executives) that “I sincerely hope the writers strike in Hollywood gets resolved, and the writers are given a fair deal that they deserve as soon as possible.”

“This is an iconic, meaningful American industry, and we need the writers and all the workers and everyone involved to tell the stories of our nation, the stories of all of us,” Biden added, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd in the East Room.

[From Yahoo]

I love this! Last week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre got hit with WGA strike questions. Pres. Biden is, of course, Mr. Union. But he’s also Mr. President. So the White House was trying to find some kind of neutral ground from which to speak. Karine brushed the questions off by reminding everyone that Pres. Biden was supportive of workers right to strike but they didn’t plan to comment on an ongoing strike. Then Pres. Biden came along, pulled a bat out of the boot of his corvette, and shattered that plexiglass wall of neutrality while Disney was in the House. I get it too. If Disney made this strike into a cartoon, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) would be the giant fat cat with the vest, watch fob and cigar and the WGA would be the starving mice trying to get the fallen crumb of cheese at their feet. Do I sound dramatic? Here are the actual demands the AMPTP rejected.

Also, to Pres. Biden’s point, we are risking losing more story tellers at a time this country needs them the most. We’re banning books and refusing to compensate our overworked writers. We get so upset when someone in a TV show we grew up watching dies, not because they didn’t live a full life, but because they took a piece of our childhood with them. Think about the last time you were truly down, what got you through it? I’ll bet at least one show or movie was in there. These people write the backdrop of our lives but right now they can’t support themselves doing so. I appreciate our president understanding that.

— Tina Fey Rocks (@TinaFeyNet) May 9, 2023

— Writers Guild of America West (@WGAWest) May 5, 2023

— Jim O'Heir (@JimOHeir) May 5, 2023

— @21metgala (@21metgala) May 5, 2023

— Reel Updates (@worldofreel) May 9, 2023

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 5, 2023

Photo credit: Cover Images and Twitter

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