Was Ellen Right To Cross The Writer's Picket Line?
Ellen DeGeneres is a well-liked figure in Hollywood and by her viewing public, but her recent actions have brought her more flak than Iggy ever did. Her decision to continue with her show in the wake of the writer's strike has brought the wrath of the WGA down on her head:
That move sparked an inter-union brawl between AFTRA and the WGA after DeGeneres — who belongs to both unions — opted to continue working on her daytime talker during the past week.The fight came into the open Friday, when the WGA East issued a press release blasting DeGeneres for continuing to perform comedy in violation of strike rules: "Ellen said she loves and supports her writers, but her actions prove otherwise.''
AFTRA topper Kim Roberts Hedgpeth declared in a letter to WGA East chief Mona Mangan that DeGeneres is required to work.
"As you know, AFTRA members such as Ms. DeGeneres who are working under the AFTRA Network TV Code (which covers ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show') are legally required by the no-strike clause of that contract to report to work and perform their AFTRA-covered responsibilities,'' she wrote. "Ms. DeGeneres, along with thousands of entertainment-industry workers represented by AFTRA and other unions who are bound by similar no-strike clauses, are also reporting to work as legally required."
But Mangan said DeGeneres is wrong: "Beyond any issue of membership, there is the obvious ethical issue, which is clearly present in Ms. DeGeneres' decision to write and produce a show without writers in the face of an industrywide walkout by 12,000 writers."
Ellen had sat out one show in support of striking writers, but came back the next day with this explanation:
I’ve got to say this is a strange show for me to do. This is weird. Weird. It’s a weird show. Channeling Johnny Carson all of a sudden. [Imitates Carson] “Very Weird. Weird. Weird.†Here’s what the deal is. It’s 'sweeps', which is a very important time in television. That’s when you do your best shows, your funniest material, you pull out all the stops and you’re doing everything you can because you want everybody watching. Now at this moment, we’re in the middle of this strike. There’s a writer’s strike going on, and here in Los Angeles it’s a huge story. I don’t know where you live, but it’s a huge story in Los Angeles. I want to say I love my writers. I love them. In honor of them today, I’m not going to do a monologue. I support them and hope that they get everything they’re asking for. And I hope it works out soon. In the meantime, people have traveled across the country. They’ve made plans. They’re here. I want to do everything I can to make your trip enjoyable and give you a show. Otherwise you’d just be wandering around and circling Bob Hope Drive.
So here's the deal...many in Hollyweird are upset because Ellen chose to cross the picket line and continue to do her show. Names like "scab" are being thrown around. There's even been a former writer telling the world what a horrible boss she was while shooting her sitcom. And maybe she was...after all, she is an actor, and they are paid to project a good image in public. But is what Ellen did really so bad? Continued on the next page
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