Mudslinging, non-stop arguing and reruns: the world must be over. Or it’s at least been put on standby once again as the Writers Guild of America continues its strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, affecting more than 12,000 writers.
But it hasn’t affected everyone equally. Although many celebrities such as the cast of NBC’s “The Office” and Jeff Garlin of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” continue to picket studios in support of their writers’ rights, some continue to broadcast new shows. And while the refusal of some stars, such as the embarrassingly unentertaining Carson Daly, to exit airwaves might not surprise anyone, one of the big names that did, might: Ellen DeGeneres.
In a move that could brand her as traitor in entertainment for the rest of her career, DeGeneres recently said that while she supports the writers’ strike, her show would continue production as normal with the exception of her monologue being omitted. The Writers Guild of America East has since issued a statement condemning DeGeneres for crossing picket lines, stating that she was “not welcome in New York.”
But who can really blame them? Even though DeGeneres certainly wasn’t harboring any resent or intentions of ridiculing writers for striking, her actions definitely read that way. The decision to continue on without her writers will send a message not only to her own staff but to the public at large about where exactly her priorities lie. Granted this isn’t as tense of a situation as “Entertainment Tonight’s” pressing coverage of Iggy-Gate, but Degeneres’ apparent apathy for her colleagues could seriously hurt her. And it isn’t winning her many fans.
There are those who have managed to continue on with new shows while still remaining loyal to their employees.
Late-night veterans like David Letterman, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien have all maintained solidarity with their employees by deciding to pay their staff writers out of their own pockets in order to keep producing shows. Both “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” have also found creative loopholes to continue broadcasting as they have been performing scripts they had written prior to the strike in New York theaters and on the Internet.
The only problem is with these professionals actually acting professional and empathizing with the very people who help them get laughs every evening (imagine that). Ellen and others could find themselves at the center of industry backlash when the strike ends. But after abandoning their programs’ artistic merits by continuing on without their writers, Ellen and company deserve whatever is coming their way.
