Late-night comics support Hollywood writers' strike
Late-night hosts like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers are expressing solidarity with Hollywood writers as they go on strike and put their programs on hiatus.
Several major late-night shows are shutting down and preparing to air re-runs in support of their writers who are going on strike.
"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Late Night" with Seth Meyers are all set to air re-runs due to the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) strike that began Monday.
Some hosts expressed support for the writers on strike as production is set to pause on Tuesday.
"Everybody including myself hopes both sides reach a deal, but I also think that the writers' demands are not unreasonable," Colbert said on his CBS show. "I’m a member of the guild. I support collective bargaining. This nation owes so much to unions... Unions are the reason we have weekends. And by extension, why we have TGI Fridays."
Jimmy Kimmel hosting "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (Randy Holmes/ABC via Getty Images) JIMMY KIMMEL (Randy Holmes/ABC via Getty Images)
Meyers added on his NBC program, "For those people who have a job in show business, they are entitled to fair compensation. They are entitled to make a living."
In a recent interview, Fallon said the show would go dark and he would support the guild in the result of a strike.
"I couldn’t do the show without them," he said.
HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" and "Last Week Tonight" with John Oliver are also expected to be paused amid the strike, according to Deadline.
Host Jimmy Fallon during the monologue on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 -- (Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) (Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
BILL MAHER, ELON MUSK DISCUSS ‘WOKE MIND VIRUS,’ TWITTER TAKEOVER, AI DURING ‘REAL TIME’ INTERVIEW
The WGA, which previously went on strike in 2007, argued writers were facing an "existential crisis" in a statement.
"The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union work force, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing," the WGA said in a statement.
Other daytime shows might be affected as well, according to reports.
ABC's "The View" went live Tuesday as co-host Whoopi Goldberg acknowledged their program was also without writers.
"Late Show" host Stephen Colbert speaking on Oct. 26, 2022. (Screenshot/CBS)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"So you know how we’re always talking about how we’re very different than most other shows," she said. "As you know, there’s a writers’ strike going on, so we don’t have writers. So you’re going to hear how it would be when it’s, you know, not slicked up. OK?"
The hosts expressed their support for the writers at the end of the show.
"We hope you weren’t too freaked about the fact that we have no writers. We did a show anyway because we want to keep everybody employed, and we want to do our best, and we support our writers, because we know what they’re going through," Goldberg said.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox