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UPDATED: AFTRA Defends Ellen; Rep Says She “Has Done Nothing” To Violate WGA
The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) issued this statement today:
Ellen DeGeneres went back on the air this week after honoring only one day of the writers strike. In anticipation of her plans to tape shows in New York City on November 19th and 20th, the Writers Guild of America, East is extremely disappointed to see that Ellen has chosen not to stand with writers during the strike. Ellen’s peers who host comedy/variety shows have chosen to support the writers and help them get a fair contract, Ellen has not. On her first show back, Ellen said she loves and supports her writers, but her actions prove otherwise.
Ellen has also been performing comedy on her show. Even if Ellen is writing those segments herself, since those segments would normally be written by the writers on strike, she’s performing “struck work”. Ellen is violating the strike rules that were clearly explained to all of the comedy/variety shows.
We certainly intend to let Ellen know our dissatisfaction in person if she decides to proceed with the shows she has scheduled in New York on November 19th and 20th. We will also make our voices heard the preceding week if she tries to pre-tape comedy segments on location.
We find it sad that Ellen spent an entire week crying and fighting for a dog that she gave away, yet she couldn’t even stand by writers for more than one day – writers who have helped make her extremely successful.
Every show and film set has a production staff and crew that is beloved by their writers. Ellen’s staff is no more important than the rest of the industry. When shows refuse to stand with us they create huge revenue streams for the companies and that prolongs the strike for the thousands of staff and crew members who are noble enough to honor our picket lines. We find this situation hurtful to those people and extremely unfortunate.
The writers did not cause this strike. The companies’ greed caused this strike and it could end tomorrow if they were finally willing to negotiate a fair deal. We ask Ellen to cease doing shows immediately. She should stand by all writers and help us bring this strike to a quick conclusion. We owe that to the thousands of people who are caught in the middle.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Ellen should do a show with Tyra Banks and call it “The Search for America’s Next Top Hypocrite.”
Signed,
A Disgusted Former Fan
She’s not welcome here in LA as far as I’m concerned. Every Late Night Host has sacrificed for what is right and fair… for all of us. Not Ellen.
She’s a Corporate Ho bag IMO and I hear she treats or has treated her Writers like shit I the past.
So, good riddance Ellen. Scabbers at least have the decency to hide in the shadows of scummery. She claims she supports us then screws us over under the spot light.
As for NBC talking about resuming Jay Leno. Another horrible miscalculation by the Networks. If they weren’t so stupendously stupid, it would almost be funny, but it’s just pathetic to do that to Jay, who almost never allows anyone to Guest Host HIS Show.
Hey Ellen, there may be another Corporate Ho-ing Opportunity for you now. I dare you.
My name is Jimmy and I’m an aspiring writer.
I think the last paragraph of that statement is the most important thing publicly said since the strike began. Kudos to WGAE. Well done.
I hope, hope, hope, Ellen is asked to host the Emmys or Academy Awards next year, and then wait for the barrage of boos and hisses she’s greeted with on awards night. How dare she cross the lines! It shows absolutely no respect for not only her writers but all writers. That’s two bad decisions this month, Ellen… giving away an adopted puppy (boo-hoo) and stabbing your writers and the WGA in the back. Enjoy the cold shoulder and the collective hatred of every writer in the WGA!
I applaud the WGAE for taking a strong, vocal stand. i wish the WGAw would do the same with issues around here (LA). There are showrunners posting shows who should not, studios who’re possibly hiring scabs to do touch up work, etc. If these things are verified, we should point them out publically so we all know what’s going on.
Top 10 reasons Ellen decided not to support the writers strike:
10) She heard that anyone who crosses the strike line gets a free puppy to do with what they please
9) She realized her audience is so brain dead they wont even miss the jokes
8 ) TV is her only hobby
7) She secretly believes in The Bush Doctrine: She’s actually supporting the writers by crossing the picket line
6) She gets to try out some new material without having to pay for it
5) Its her secret way of getting back at Pulitzer prize winner Anne Heche
4) It’s a great way to practice those dance moves for her new career on Dancing With The Stars
3) She heard it was a cat fight and as everyone knows she’s a dog person
2) She’s allergic to not getting a big fat paycheck
1) Strike? What so funny about a Strike? I want my puppy!
My mother can’t stand Ellen. Now I know why.
“staff and crew members who are noble enough to honor our picket lines.”
Noble? Do we have a choice? As crew, we do not – we didn’t vote for this strike and we do not have control over being fired or laid off…
“The writers did not cause this strike”
Yes they did, they could have extended negotiations for one more day or even continuing to work while they occurred.
“The companies’ greed caused this strike and it could end tomorrow if they were finally willing to negotiate a fair deal.”
Then suck it up and go back to the table, someone has to blink. If the WGA is that willing to negotiate then be the bigger “person” and go back to the table.
Who is going to pay OUR bills and when this is settled who is going to give us a raise? Certainly not the WGA.
She’s doing her job and why shouldn’t she, she’s not a writer and therefore not on strike.
Shut up, WGA!
And this will only get worse. sweeps + movie money = all of late night being back in the next few weeks. Both NBC and CBS are talking about having ‘new’ shows on the week of the 19th.
ELLEN LOVES DOGS & NOT WRITERS!!!! We need to send a strong message to the guests she has on her show also. Get on their web sites, say you won’t see their movies or shows. And get the info out on where she’s staying in NY and where she’s doing remotes so that can be picketted too.
I don’t think all the staff that Ellen is saving from unemployment hate her.
Right now there are hundreds, if not thousands, of post production people who are still at work to finish the shows that have already been filmed. If the showrunners opt to NOT act as producers and participate in finishing these shows, ALL the post people will be out on the street.
I support the strike and want the writers to get what they want, and their walking out prevents new content from being made – this has already made many people jobless and will hurt the studios big time.
But they can finish the shows already in the pipeline and put food on the table for dozens of their staff – for at least a little longer – if they choose to.
good for ellen. can’t wait to read about the strike continuing 3 months from now with no end in sight. power to the amptp!!!
Good for Ellen. She’s looking out for us fans, (who by the way pay all of your salaries by buying your product) and the hundred or whatever people she said are on her crew. I’ve supported the writers, but the awful name calling disgusts me. Not like Ellen can’t handle a little name calling anyways…she took it from the homophobes in the past, she’ll probably be fine dealing with bitter, out of work writers.
I can sort of see Ellen’s original reasoning…”people have planned their lives around the taping of my show”.
HOWEVER, these people have planned their lives way into the future (tickets are reserved way in advance) and by disrupting the flow of visitors to the show, are you not forcing them to see that WRITERS are important to the industry and deserve what they’re striking for? I’m not sure that came out right, but basically, stop taping and you’ll see how quickly this strike can be resolved.
ELLEN needs to stop taping. At first I was supporting her with the whole notion of making her visitors happy, now I’m a bit aggravated with the whole mess.
We should all be going to http://www.ellen.warnerbros.com and flooding her website and letting her know that we think she stinks.
I can’t imagine NBC will have any luck finding guest hosts for Leno. That person would have a hard time ever getting respect in this town again.
As someone who used to admire Ellen, I now see that she’s nothing but a fraud. Crying about a dog that she gave away but she she doesn’t think twice about showing up to tape her show and cash a check. Also, one of her former writers on her sitcom in 2000 said in his/her blog that Ellen treated the writers “like shit”.
The time has come for another kind of outing.
She is keeping the non striking union crew working. Keeping their mortgage payments and car payments going. Keeping them from having to move into their parents houses or on the street. She didn’t cause the strike, writers went on strike because of their beef with the dickhead AMPTP. So tough luck if she wants to keep working. Just like it’s tough luck other crews are working on Guild written scripts. We got paid for em. Let them.
Maybe everyone should worry less about what the actors are doing and work to get the “leaders” to the table. It’s great Vanessa Williams is bringing you candy, that ain’t gonna pay your mortgages. Why not try having the leadership sit outside AMPTP HQ every day all day waiting to negotiate, that would be great PR.
Ellen=Scab.
She should be banned from the hosting the Oscars, Emmys forever. Ellen the dancing scab.
THis shouldn’t be a shock considering that when Ellen had one of her prime-time shows, she fired the head writer. That head writer would become the creator of the cult classic “Arrested Development.” A show which IMO is the best written TV show of all-time, and a show which got a few Emmys in the category of writing. Something none of the Ellen prime-time shows failed to do.
So basically Ellen has no respect for those of the writing profession.
Amen WGAe!
PJ, we find your posts insightful and agree with the recent one regarding Ellen. It troubles us to speak out against a powerful female personality like Ellen, because there are too few powerful women and they suffer far more attacks than their male counterparts.
We agree with your position but only ask that your criticism refrain from sexist terms like “Ho.”
Okay, I totally understand honoring the writer’s strike, but why is everyone giving Ellen such a hard time for simply choosing to allow her other employees to keep their jobs. While I sympathize with the writers and their quest for what is due to them, let us not forget there are thousands of other folks who did not choose to go on strike, who did not threaten to walk off their jobs and who should not be punished because the writers did. If someone like Ellen can honor her writers for one day and then allow others so much worse off money wise than writers to keep their jobs, why give her a hard time. While on that subject, I too believe we should be giving showrunners who aren’t honoring their committments to the networks a hard time. These people signed contracts to produce shows and deliver them to their respective networks. How is it that we cheer when they break these committments and cause innocent people to loose their jobs. I have friends who are being laid off and told they may not be coming back for months, if at all. And the reason is because certain producers aren’t there to keep the show running. The networks aren’t loosing, they are cutting their losses. But the crews are getting hurt, and their families are getting hurt. So, I think these showrunners should really think twice before they just don’t show up. Don’t write, don’t edit, but show up and produce what’s already been written so you can look at yourself in the mirror when this is all said and done and know your irresponcible actions didn’t cause some family to go without this christmas.
Below the Line, you do need to remember that it takes two to negotiate. If the companies aren’t willing to negotiate, then no matter how long the WGA sits at the table nothing’s going to change. In order to make their point the writers HAD to leave. They HAD to cause an economic impact that the companies couldn’t ignore. Essentially, their hand was forced.