Summary
- Selena Gomez violated SAG-AFTRA strike rules by posting about her show on Instagram, which includes promotional work that is prohibited during the strike.
- SAG-AFTRA is striking to negotiate pay raises with studios and address issues such as lack of health insurance coverage for many actors and the devaluation of actors' work in the streaming model.
- While actors cannot work for employers without a basic minimum agreement with SAG-AFTRA during the strike, some productions, such as "House of the Dragon" and independent projects, have been given permission to continue.
In March 2023, Selena Gomez was officially named the most followed woman on Instagram. She was the first female user to surpass the 400 million mark, which is now 428 million as of this writing.
"Wishing I could hug all 400 million of you," said the Disney alum at that time. Kylie Jenner — with whom she was reportedly feuding — previously held the title of the most followed woman on the platform (399 million) while football star Cristiano Ronaldo has consistently been the most followed man on there with his 603 million followers.
Due to Gomez's popularity, fans were quick to notice when she recently posted something that mentioned her Hulu show, Only Murders in the Building, where she was almost not cast.
The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike prohibits actors from doing any promotional work. Here's everything you should know about these rules.
Why Are Actors Going On Strike?
SAG-AFTRA joined the Writers Guild of America on strike to negotiate pay raises with studios. "Most of my members don't even meet the threshold to get health insurance, which is $26,000 a year, and in most jobs that would be considered a part-time job," explained SAG's president, Fran Drescher on CBS Mornings.
"All they're interested in is showing their shareholders how much money they're making and not losing," she said of the studios. "It's very strange. I don't understand why people don't just do the right thing, why their whole culture doesn't shift at having character."
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator, previously said in a press conference that the streaming model "devalues our members and affects their ability to make ends meet." He also noted that A.I. poses an "existential threat" to actors, especially the extras.
"They proposed that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day's pay," he said of the studios' plan, "and the company should be able to own that scan, that likeness, for the rest of eternity, on any project they want, with no consent and no compensation."
Can Actors Work During SAG Strike?
According to the union's Global Rule One (GR1), during the strike, "no member shall render any services or make an agreement to perform services for any employer who has not executed a basic minimum agreement with the union, which is in full force and effect in any jurisdiction in which there is a SAG-AFTRA national collective bargaining agreement in place. This provision applies worldwide."
As a result, we'd have to wait a while for the next season of our favorite ongoing TV shows. Luckily, House of the Dragon gets to continue production, with showrunner Ryan Condal (a WGA member), strictly working on the scripts that have already been completed months prior to the strike.
The cast members' contracts are also under the British union Equity, even those who are members of the SAG-AFTRA. Independent projects, like A24's Death of a Unicorn and Mother Mary, were also given the green light.
"For independently produced content that comes within the scope of a strike order, the producer may qualify for an 'Interim Agreement' that would allow such productions to continue working during a strike," the union explained per Deadline.
Speaking about the agreement, they said: "SAG-AFTRA intends for the 'Interim Agreement' to largely be conformed to the AMPTP agreement on a going-forward basis once the membership ratifies successor agreements with the AMPTP."
How Did Selena Gomez's Instagram Post Violate Strike Rules?
Gomez posted a Reel on Instagram, captioned, "Missing and wanting @onlymurdershulu," which is against SAG's rule against promotional work during the strike. In their guidelines, it says that even influencers who are members of the union must not "accept any new work for promotion of struck companies or their content."
Whether they're paid or not, they must "Refrain from posting on social media about any struck work." They're also not allowed to "participate in conventions such as Comic-Con on behalf of or to promote" struck companies.
That includes "appearances, panels, fan meet-and-greets, etc. involving struck work." They "may participate in a convention in ways that are wholly independent of characters from struck work or sponsorship by struck companies."
The actress, who may have inspired HBO's The Idol, deleted her Instagram post the next morning. However, fans were shocked that her PR team didn't take it down right away. It stayed on the platform for at least 10 hours.
Others thought Gomez should have been more careful herself. "And she has a reach of 428M followers she needs to be held accountable," wrote a Reddit commenter. "Because days ago she was supporting the strike."
Another one said: "I hope she does see consequences for this because it's a direct slap in the face to everyone who's followed the guidelines and held the line. I'm really starting to sour on this princess."
