U.S. President Joe Biden was in attendance for a screening of the new Disney+ series, American Born Chinese, on Monday night. At the start of the event, Biden offered his first remarks regarding the ongoing WGA strike. The President offered his support for the writers and said that they should get the deal “they deserve, as soon as possible.”
“Nights like these are a reminder of the power of stories and the importance of treating storytellers with the dignity, respect and value they deserve,” the President said, according to Variety.
“I sincerely hope that the writers strike in Hollywood gets resolved — and the writers are given the fair deal they deserve, as soon as possible. This is an iconic, meaningful American industry. We need the writers — and all the workers — and everyone involved to tell the stories of our nation. And the stories of all of us.”
Members of the Writers Guild of America embarked on a strike earlier this month with the goal of acquiring shorter exclusivity deals, improved staffing requirements, increase pay, better residuals and safeguards regarding the use of AI.
“Here is what all writers know: the companies have broken this business,” WGA leadership said, according to Variety.
“They have taken so much from the very people, the writers, who have made them wealthy. But what they cannot take from us is each other, our solidarity, our mutual commitment to save ourselves and this profession that we love. We had hoped to do this through reasonable conversation. Now we will do it through struggle. For the sake of our present and our future, we have been given no other choice.”
"I sincerely hope the strike gets resolved, and writers are given a fair deal as soon as possible. This is an iconic, meaningful American industry & we need the writers—and all the workers—to tell the stories of our nation, and the stories of all of us." – @POTUS #WGAStrong #1u pic.twitter.com/cyH7HrTK6G
— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) May 9, 2023
