Fran Drescher Slammed for Italy Trip, Kim Kardashian Pic Amid SAG-AFTRA Contract Talks: ‘Real Let Them Eat Cake Vibes’
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher was criticized on Monday after it became public that she traveled to Italy for a Dolce & Gabbana fashion event over the weekend despite the guild’s ongoing contract talks with studios.
The trip became publicly known after Kim Kardashian, who also attended the event, posted a photo with Drescher on Instagram.
Guild reps didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap, but in a statement to The Ankler, SAG-AFTRA said, “President Drescher is working as a brand ambassador for Dolce and 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. 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 FL. She is returning to the states and will be on the ground in LA tomorrow, and will continue to chair our negotiations.”
SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) were unable to reach a new deal before their existing contract expired on June 30. A strike was at least temporarily averted when negotiations were extended through July 12. But on Monday the guild sent strike rules out to members, a sign it believes the extended talks may not succeed.
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And whether the negotiating committee was aware of the trip, it seems it wasn’t widely known to rank and file SAG-AFTRA members, judging from the reactions online from those who at best considered the trip in poor taste.
This is a joke right? The deadline for a union that she is President of has a deadline to strike Wed at midnight. Livelihoods are on the line. I’m hoping this is not true. It can’t be. No one could be this stupid. https://t.co/0BENOzvrUt
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) July 11, 2023
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. https://t.co/5ZHnwgQqYJ
— Briana Cap (@BrianaCap) July 10, 2023
Negotiating our possible strike from Italy seems like a strange strategy @frandrescher @sagaftra pic.twitter.com/XNmi7DlWCJ
— Lenny Jacobson (@Lennyjacobson) July 10, 2023
But members of the still-on-strike Writers Guild of America also called Drescher out.
some real let them eat cake vibes for the SAG-AFTRA members who were marching alongside us WGA members just this morning https://t.co/UiPL6IiZTD
— Taffy Brodesser-Akner (@taffyakner) July 10, 2023
When your sweet six-figure residuals from a 90’s sitcom allow you to jetset off to Italy in the middle of a critical labor negotiation that doesn’t afford your fellow union members the same financial advantages, that’s amore. https://t.co/UXdVdzZ9Oh
— Gennefer Gross (@Gennefer) July 10, 2023
On June 24, SAG-AFTRA leaders including Drescher released a video expressing optimism about the progress of talks with the AMPTP. And it seemed when the groups extended the deadline for a new deal from June 30 to July 12, it meant a new contract was likely, given that extensions in 2014 and 2017 also ended with new contracts.
But sources with knowledge of the talks tell TheWrap that the talks have bogged down over streaming residuals. SAG-AFTRA members want a new residual system based on viewership data, information streamers currently do not share with creators.
The Directors Guild of America negotiated a significant residual increase in its recently ratified contract, but viewership was not accounted for in that deal.
