SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher Says She Was Willing To Strike In 2021 Over Covid Vax Mandates

Hollywood is mourning the loss of Tony Bennett. The singer who successfully led a decades-long career and captivated audiences with "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," died Friday.The star was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday. Publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed Bennett’s death to The Associated Press, saying he passed away in his hometown of New York.

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher is keen to continue negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), who are allegedly dragging their heels.

Fran Drescher has come a long way since playing the “flashy girl from Flushing” on The Nanny.

EXCLUSIVE: The Working Families Party is the latest organization to show support to striking writers and actors with a message for the studios.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) seized on the SAG-AFTRA strike in an online conversation with President Fran Drescher on Tuesday evening, as they both bashed Bob Iger and other CEOs, and made the case for why the actors’ walkout should be of concern of all workers.

Disney CEO Bob Iger recently sat down with CNBC for an interview during which he shared his views on the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Fran Drescher is opening up about the SAG-AFTRA strike and how long it might go on.

Fran Drescher boarded the bus and has landed at her first picket line on the first day of the actors strike.

Fran Drescher is speaking out in response to the controversy surrounding her recent trip to Italy and meetup with Kim Kardashian.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher will be on the picket lines Friday on the first day of the guild’s strike against the film and television industry. She’ll be joined by Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the guild’s national executive director and chief negotiator, and members of the guild’s negotiating committee.

Fran Drescher fired up her base today in a speech outlining strike plans.

formally announcing an actors’ strike and officially putting Hollywood at a production standstill, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher gave a rousing opening salvo of a speech that exclaimed that “the jig is up” for Hollywood studios’ continued abuses towards its labor workers. “You people are crazy — why are you doing this?” she said while recounting the weeks of negotiations that have left many in the union feeling “insulted.”“From the time negotiations began on June 7, SAG-AFTRA staff and the members of our negotiating committee have worked overtime devoting their evenings, weekends and holidays to achieving a deal that would ensure a sustainable future for the acting profession,” chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said before handing the mic to Drescher. “But despite our team’s efforts, the AMPTP has remained steadfast in its commitment to devaluing the work of our members.”The strike will begin late Thursday at midnight.Read Drescher’s fiery speech in full below.

BreAnna Bell There will be no red carpet premiere for Paramount’s “Special Ops: Lioness,” Variety has learned. The cancellation comes on the heels of SAG-AFTRA’s announcement that the guild will commence its own strike against the film and TV companies, alongside the Writers Guild. “We recognize this is disappointing news and apologize for any inconvenience it causes. We are very excited to celebrate the series and can’t wait for it to debut to Paramount+ audiences on July 23rd,” read Paramount+’s official confirmation of the change in plans for the premiere event of Taylor Sheridan’s military drama . Originally scheduled to take place on July 18 at the Directors Guild of America Theatre in Los Angeles, the “Special Ops: Lioness” premiere was scheduled to include appearances by stars including Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Kelly, Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Stephanie Nur, Hannah Love Lanier and Sam Asghari.

Fran Drescher got fired up on Thursday when delivering a powerful message about SAG-AFTRA's decision to go on strike.The actress and union president delivered an impassioned speech at a press conference Thursday morning — shortly after news broke that the union voted to authorize a strike — and called out the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for making «Wall Street and greed a priority.»The SAG-AFTRA national board met Thursday to formally approve a strike after negotiations fell apart between the actors' union and major Hollywood studios and streamersThe actors will now join the writers on the picket line, marking the first time since 1960 two major guilds will be striking at the same time. The writers' strike began May 2 and is in its 10th week.Below is the complete transcript of Drescher's powerful address during Thursday's press conference.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic It’s the spotlight Fran Drescher turned out, unexpectedly, to be born for.  Speaking at a press conference announcing the actors strike Thursday, the SAG-AFTRA president, still known best for her winsome and haphazardly charming protagonist of the sitcom “The Nanny,” looked stricken. Speaking at first deliberately and then with increasing passion, Drescher narrated her union’s attempt, initially, to avoid a strike, and then what she cast as the dawning realization that action was required.  It was a performance with build and emotional heft, culminating in an appeal to labor across the world: “This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth,” she declared — and if that reads a bit awkwardly on the page, well, you should have heard how she delivered it. She continued to excoriate “big business, who care more about Wall Street than you and your family.” On “you,” she gestured out into the audience; on “your family,” she gazed directly into camera, to the unseen viewers out there at home, proletariat and executive alike. 

Amid the bad optics of appearing on social media with Kim Kardashian at a Dolce & Gabbana show in Puglia, Italy as SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP contract talks went down to the wire, the actors’ president Fran Drescher, along with the guild’s National Executive Director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, blasted “employers” at the SAG-AFTRA Strike presser this AM for stirring up the bad ink against The Nanny actress.

The actors strike is “probably” going to last a while, according to SAG-AFTRA leadership.

What felt inevitable is now official: Deadline reports that SAG-AFTRA‘s national board voted unanimously this morning to launch its first strike since 1980. The strike begins tomorrow, July 14 at one minute past midnight, with picketing to start in front of studios tomorrow.

Fran Drescher is calling out the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

William Earl SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher gave an emotional speech at Thursday’s press conference announcing the union’s plans to strike. During her heartfelt words, she had many pointed messages for the AMPTP, including, “We are labor and we stand tall and we demand respect and to be honored for our contribution” and “We are being victimized by a very greedy entity.” Watch Drescher’s speech and read a full transcript of it below. “Thank you everybody for coming to this press conference today. It’s really important that this negotiation be covered, because the eyes of the world, and particularly the eyes of labor, are upon us. What happens here is important because what’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labor, when employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run.