Here are the musicians who have been supporting writers as the WGA strike continues.
People picket outside of Paramount Pictures studios during the Hollywood writers strike on May 4, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
David McNew/Getty Images
The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike has been affecting TV series, late night talk shows and awards shows since Monday (May 1), after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to produce a new deal.
Members had voted in March to walk out if an agreement was not made by the time the contract expired.
“While company profits have remained high and spending on content has grown, writers are falling behind,” the WGA said in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “The companies have used the transition to streaming to cut writer pay and separate writing from production, worsening working conditions for series writers at all levels. On TV staffs, more writers are working at minimum regardless of experience, often for fewer weeks, or in mini-rooms, while showrunners are left without a writing staff to complete the season. And while series budgets have soared over the past decade, median writer-producer pay has fallen.”
Since it began, the writers’ strike has garnered support from many celebrities in Hollywood, including a number of musicians. From Flavor Flav joining protesters outside of Warner Bros. studios to Imagine Dragons, Weezer and more spreading the love through mini performances, see below for all of the musicians who have been supporting writers as the strike continues.
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Flavor Flav
The rapper joined protesters on May 18 in Burbank, Calif., outside Warner Bros. studios, showing support for the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. In photos and videos shared to social media, he brought pizza, burgers and fries to those on the picket line and also danced along to his Public Enemy protest anthem, “Fight the Power.”
He was also spotted posing for photos with the Ted Lasso team, including Jason Sudeikis, and the Abbott Elementary team, including Quinta Brunson.
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Imagine Dragons
The band’s singer Dan Reynolds and guitarist Daniel Sermon stopped by the Netflix picket line in Hollywood on May 10, where they treated protesters to an acoustic performance of their hits “Radioactive” and “Whatever It Takes.”
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Weezer
Similarly, Weezer played an impromptu acoustic set on the Paramount Pictures lot for the picketers on May 17. Singer/guitarist Rivers Cuomo, guitarist Brian Bell and bassist Scott Shriner performed a mini-set that included their 1994 hit “Buddy Holly” and 2005’s “Beverly Hills.”
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Tom Morello
Tom Morello also entertained picketers in support, as the Rage Against the Machine rocker was spotted on May 10 performing his protest anthem, “Union Song,” from his solo project The Nightwatchman.
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Snoop Dogg
“[Artists] need to figure it out the same way the writers are figuring it out,” Snoop said during a May 3 panel with Variety‘s executive music editor Shirley Halperin and Gamma’s Larry Jackson. “The writers are striking because [of] streaming, they can’t get paid. Because when it’s on the platform, it’s not like in the box office.”
He continued, “I don’t understand how the f— you get paid off of that s—. Somebody explain to me how you can get a billion streams and not get a million dollars?… That’s the main gripe with a lot of us artists is that we do major numbers… but it don’t add up to the money. Like, where the f— is the money?”
This story originally appeared on Billboard
