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With a strike looming for members of the Screen Actors Guild, whose new deadline for SAG-AFTRA to come to an agreement with Hollywood studios and producers is set to expire at midnight on July 12, and SAG-AFTRA agreeing to federal mediation, actors say they don’t have a lot of faith in SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher.
“I have faith in the negotiating team around her. I think there’s a lot of wisdom and passion in that room and I know a lot of the people on the negotiating team personally that have made me feel at ease about the situation going into whatever results in the next 24 hours,” one member told Rolling Stone. “But I see Fran [Drescher] as a figurehead who enjoys the press and posing for cameras more than anything else. Unfortunately, she’s the head of one of the largest labor unions in entertainment at a time of seasonal change and she’s not the leader of the moment but she’s the leader we have for the moment.”
Drescher, who is supposed to be at the helm fighting for actors who want Hollywood studios to recognize issues like wages, residual payments, and concerns around artificial intelligence, was photographed this past weekend with Kim Kardashian at a Dolce & Gabbana event in Puglia, Italy. Some actors took to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with Drescher’s appearance in Italy in the midst of their contract negotiations.
“My union president chilling in Italy while we’re in the middle of negotiations and about to go on strike. We’re asking to be better compensated by the studios and Fran Drescher is mugging for cameras in Italy,” Kirk Acevedo tweeted. “The optics look fucking terrible.”
In a tweet that accumulated nearly 600 retweets, Briana Cap shared the photo of Drescher and Kardashian and wrote, “Look — I’m not saying one can’t have a personal life. And I’m not saying one can’t take a vacation. But we are in the middle of the most crucial negotiation in decades and our WGA siblings are on day 70 of fighting for their lives. The optics here are *truly* awful. Do better.”
This isn’t the first time that members of the guild have publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with union leadership. Before the initial June 30 deadline, Rolling Stone broke the news that more than 300 SAG members, including major stars like Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Poehler, and other A-list actors signed a letter to the SAG-AFTRA Leadership and Negotiating Committee. In the letter, they threatened to strike and expressed their dissatisfaction with Drescher and other leaders, writing, “SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.”
SAG-AFTRA members who spoke to Rolling Stone echoed the sentiments of their peers online, saying they’re disappointed with Drescher’s “ineffective leadership” at this critical time for their union. The members, who said they’re prepared to strike to ensure better contracts, wanted to remain anonymous out of a fear of retaliation and retribution in the industry.
“I hate to say it, but no. I don’t think she is the best person to lead us right now,” one SAG-AFTRA member told Rolling Stone. “Times like these are when members look to leadership for steadfastness, optimism, and empathy. She has absolutely failed us on that front.”
Contract negotiations have been a rollercoaster, members pointed out, and for Drescher to be in Italy at a heightened time of importance for the union and its members was “surprising and disappointing.”
“I had to verify the photo was current because my initial reaction was, ‘There’s no way she’s in Italy. Not right now. That would be crazy.’ Alas, I was wrong,” a member said. “It is incredibly insensitive to be posing for photos at a swanky fashion show when she knows her 160,000 plus or minus constituents are about to be out of work indefinitely, and as a union member and fellow creative, she should have more respect for our WGA siblings who are already ten weeks into their strike. As someone said, it’s a big ‘let them eat cake’ vibe.”
Another SAG member said they think Drescher has remained tone-deaf throughout this entire process, including when she signed her own name to the letter that was addressed to her.
“It shows that she doesn’t understand her station or optics,” they said.
People who have been in closed-door meetings with her say Drescher has been argumentative, defensive, and that she seems “more interested in getting credit for work that she thinks she’s already done instead of focusing on what still needs to be accomplished.”
According to one SAG-AFTRA member, Drescher’s presence at the Dolce & Gabbana event just days before contract negotiations are up means that Drescher either doesn’t want to be at the negotiations or that “her presence is not required.”
“They keep using the term ‘seminal deal.’ If it is indeed so seminal, she should be in the trenches with our negotiating team until the bitter end,” the member said. “I understand that there are many parties involved in these talks, and maybe it’s truly out of her hands at this point, but she is the president and face of our guild. Whether these talks result in a deal or a strike, you don’t jet off to Italy for your ‘brand ambassador’ duties while the very real threat of a work stoppage looms. The optics could not be worse.”
Another actor said that moving forward, they hope members will “learn to scrutinize who we vote for and not just listen to the celebrity votes,” especially because they think Drescher has lacked an understanding of responsibility.
“I’m not saying that she’s not capable. I’m saying the Fran that I’ve gotten to see as a member of SAG-AFTRA, I have been very disappointed in,” they said. “She’s the face of SAG-AFTRA and I think over the last couple of years every opportunity Fran has had to take the high road and to present a united front for all actors, especially those who can benefit from the lengthy career and residual library like she has, she’s missed. She has shown a general lack of understanding for what it’s going to take for actors who are coming into the trade now to make a living.”
In a statement released to the press on Tuesday, representatives for SAG-AFTRA said, “President Drescher is working as a brand ambassador for Dolce & Gabbana on location in Italy. This was a commitment fully known to the negotiating committee. She has been in negotiations every day either in person or via videoconference,” said the union. “President Drescher is managing a physically demanding schedule across three time zones, overseeing negotiations, and working on location daily, as well as managing her parents’ needs in Florida. She is returning to the states and will be on the ground in L.A. tomorrow, and will continue to chair our negotiations.”
SAG-AFTRA didn’t immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
