‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Stars Protest, Give Speeches on SAG-AFTRA Picket Line
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As Grey’s Anatomy writers get back to work following the resolution of the WGA strike, the stars of the ABC hospital drama are helping keep the SAG-AFTRA strike alive.
“Some of us have been fortunate enough to have gigs that have given us a certain amount of comfortableness, if that’s the right word,” James Pickens Jr., who plays Dr. Richard Webber on the show, said in a speech at the Warner Bros. studio on Friday, as a Deadline video shows. “But this strike is about the rank and file, about the majority of actors who are just trying to make enough to get health benefits … and make a living wage.”
Sarah Drew/Instagram
Members of the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have been on strike since mid-July as part of a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents Hollywood studios, networks, and streamers. Aside from health benefits, other issues in dispute include streaming residuals, AI technology, and self-tape auditions.
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Chandra Wilson, the actor behind Dr. Miranda Bailey, also addressed the crowd, calling for more transparency. “Remember when there were quotes, and you would take one job in order to make it better for the next job, and then you walk into the next job, and you’re like, ‘This is my quote’? We don’t have that,” she said. “Basically, I think we are all here because we just want to know what the rubric is, so that we can make a good decision about what it is that we are doing with our lives.”
And Jason George, who plays Ben Warren on Grey’s and on spinoff Station 19, called for fellow SAG-AFTRA members not to give up the fight. “There are a couple days where the lines got a little bit thinner on the picket line,” he observed. “We cannot have that. As a member of the negotiating committee, I am begging you to stay strong, to keep on the lines, to tell everyone you know [to] show up because this keeps the pressure on. That’s what it’s about.”
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Other Grey’s cast members in attendance at the protest on Friday included Jake Borelli, Jaicy Elliot, Camilla Luddington, Kim Raver, Caterina Scorsone, Harry Shum Jr., Niko Terho. Former Grey’s stars Sarah Drew and Kelly McCreary also joined the picket line.
“Proud to stand in solidarity on the picket line today with many of our Grey’s cast/crew family and fellow #SAGAFTRA union members today in front of Warner Brothers!” Raver wrote on Instagram later that day.
