SAG-AFTRA members call out the union via open letter, will leadership act?

In an open letter to SAG-AFTRA, hundreds of industry names call out the union for its one-sided stance on Gaza. Though the grievances don’t stop there. The letter includes claims that actors are being blacklisted and that the union needs to do more to protect them. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni unravel the laundry list of complications that come with taking a stance in Hollywood.

Can SAG-AFTRA remain silent? Mark Ruffalo and Cynthia Nixon are among the hundreds of SAG-AFTRA members to sign an open letter to the union. The upset stems from SAG-AFTRA ignoring their requests to make a statement in support of a ceasefire in Gaza. The union condemned Hamas in a public statement following the attack on Oct. 7, but has not done the same in the midst of hundreds of Palestinians being killed. “If you're going to enter this fray and put out a statement, then you have essentially opened yourself up as a union that represents a couple 100,000 actors. You should be standing up for the other side of the issue,” says Belloni.

Is industry backlash informing SAG-AFTRA’s fears? To openly comment on the crisis in Gaza has been a lose/lose situation in Hollywood. Perhaps this is where the fears of SAG-AFTRA’s leadership are coming from. CAA agent, Maha Dakhil resigned from her board position after she reposted a “Free Palestine” post on social media. Similar backlash also struck Brandt Joel from WME. “People now have social media and they have the function to make their very emotional views public. I think all these companies are dealing with this issue,” says Belloni. “The question is, what is SAG-AFTRA going to do here?”

Are blacklisting allegations enough to make the union act? In the open letter there are also serious allegations of blacklisting. The actors and actresses have expressed grievances about the inability to get certain jobs due to their support for Palestine. This claim holds weight in an industry with a deep history of blacklisting and the members want more protections from the union. Will the contents of the letter be enough to make SAG-AFTRA act and investigate the potential retaliation their members are facing?