Drew Barrymore quit MTV host to support writers strike

Drew Barrymore it no longer hosts the upcoming MTV Movie & TV Awards lecture. He released a statement about the decision, which he made in support of the ongoing WGA strike.

Due to the actress’s decision, the designers of the award ceremonies scrambled to reorganize their event in time. Paramount Global executive Bruce Gillmer explained that one of Barrymore’s recorded tapes could still be used.

The Writers Guild went on strike earlier this week after several failed negotiations with their studios and executives. Despite Barrymore’s decision, Gillmer still spoke warmly of her, saying she was “incredible” for them.

Read on to learn more.

Drew Barrymore is stepping back from her hosting duties

Drew Barrymore has officially stepped down from her hosting duties at the upcoming MTV Movie & TV Awards. He decided to stand in solidarity with Hollywood writers who are on strike through their WGA Union.

Barrymore released a statement Species“I have listened to the writers, and to truly respect them, in solidarity with the strike, I will be stepping away from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live. Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television comes from their creation. And until there is a solution, I choose to wait, but I will watch from home and hope you will join me.”

In a statement, the actress thanked MTV for being “one of the best partners I’ve ever worked with.” Despite her decision to step down as host of this year’s show, Barrymore shared that she has already agreed to host next year’s awards show as an olive branch of the studio.

The award ceremony is reorganizing its event

Barrymore’s decision to withdraw caused significant problems for MTV, as the award ceremony will be broadcast on Sunday. Now the studio is scrambling to keep the show running with the possibility of no host. Producers are also waiting to see if other celebrities involved will come forward like Barrymore.

For the time being, the MTV award ceremony has already taken extraordinary measures, for example cutting off the red carpet walk. Even though Barrymore wasn’t physically present at the event, she has several pre-taped segments that can still be used.

Paramount Global executive Bruce Gillmer, executive producer of the MTV awards show, spoke about the issue. He said Barrymore’s clips may be used to open the show, but they haven’t decided how to start the event without a host.

He also indicated that some future awardees already have recordings of their possible acceptance speeches. Gillmer said: “We will be very respectful of the talent’s decisions to participate in pre-tapes, to appear or not to appear, whatever they decide. We have backup plans and coverage just in case, so the short answer is I’m not sure yet.

The writers’ strike started this week

The Writers Guild Of America officially began a union strike earlier this week after unsuccessful negotiations with its studios. Writers are fighting for residual payments now that streaming is so prominent and staffing requirements are improving. The strike affected several major talk shows across America.

Barrymore, for example, is among those most unaffected by the strike. The current season of her talk show “The Drew Barrymore Show” has been filmed in its entirety. This means that you can air episodes that are not affected by the strike, but still choose to speak on behalf of the writers.

Another show, “The Talk,” has many unionized writers, so they can’t air episodes during the strike. Shows like “Live With Kelly And Mark” and “The View” have been able to air multiple episodes, but they may not be able to run for long.

Paramount Exec Speaks Warmly About Drew Barrymore Despite Her Decision

Despite Barrymore’s decision to step down as host of the MTV Awards, Gillmer continued to speak warmly of the “50 First Dates” star. During a conversation Species Speaking about the current situation with the strike, Barrymore said it was “unbelievable”.

He said: “Drew, without question, it was incredible. It is hard to imagine that we have ever had a better experience with a host. It’s really more of a partner; he’s in it every day, he’s just super passionate, committed and creative. He even took some of his team on the trip.”

Gillmer shared that when the strike began, MTV executives were already “preparing for what might happen.” He said they all “totally respect” Barrymore’s decision to stand in solidarity with the writers’ union. Gillmer concluded that Barrymore was fully supportive of the studio.