Picketers chant for Drew Barrymore to pay her writers outside CBS Broadcast Center
Fox News Digital captured video of Writers Guild members outside the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan, chanting "Hey Drew. Girl whats good? Pay your writers like you should." (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
"The Drew Barrymore Show" will reportedly have three fewer writers on its staff after former striking writers apparently declined to return.
According to sources close to the show, writers Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe have decided not to return despite the end of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Production is allegedly interviewing new writers under guild compliance to replace them prior to the show’s Oct. 16 premiere.
White, Kinon and Koe were among several writers who protested on behalf of the WGA. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in September, they revealed that there were no conversations about going back to the show.
"In April, when we went on hiatus, which was a couple weeks before the strike, at that time it was the idea to return to the show and that was the last conversation that we had with anyone at the show," White explained.
Members of the WGA-EAST and SAG-AFTRA picket outside The Drew Barrymore Show as audience members arrive ahead of the show at CBS Broadcast Center on September 12, 2023, in New York City. ( Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
When asked about whether they would return, White responded, "Maybe no comment."
Drew Barrymore surprised many people in the entertainment industry after originally announcing that her talk show would continue despite the writers’ strike in mid-September.
In a statement on social media, she defended the decision, saying, "To be clear, our talk show actually wrapped on April 20th so we never had to shut down the show. However, I am also making the choice to come back for the first time in this strike for our show, that may have my name on it but this is bigger than just me."
Though her decision received intense backlash, Kinon acknowledged that it was likely a "difficult" situation for Barrymore.
Drew Barrymore was skewered in the comments section of her Instagram statement for announcing her talk show's return during the writers' strike. (Arturo Holmes/WireImage/Getty Images)
"I'm sure it was a really difficult decision for [Barrymore] to make," Kinon said. "I can't speak for what she's thinking, but I think that I would love for everyone in the industry to stand in solidarity with the guilds and to make sure that writers and actors get the contracts they deserve."
Days later, Barrymore once again took to social media to apologize to the unions.
"I know there's just nothing I can do that will make this OK for those it is not OK with," Barrymore said. "I fully accept that, I fully understand that. There are so many reasons why this is so complex, and I just want everyone to know my intentions have never been in a place to upset or hurt anyone. It's not who I am.
"I've been through so many ups and downs in my life, and this is one of them. I deeply apologize to writers. I deeply apologize to unions. I deeply apologize."
Shortly after, Barrymore announced that the show would instead remain shut down until the end of the strike.
Drew Barrymore later apologized on Instagram. (Getty Images/Drew Barrymore/Instagram)
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"I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over. I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today. We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon," Barrymore wrote on Instagram.
FOX News Digital reached out to CBS Media Ventures for comment.
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