The West Wing star Bradley Whitford is putting pressure on Hollywood’s actors union to mandate proof of COVID-19 vaccination on all sets.
Bradley Whitford, who campaigned for Joe Biden during last year’s presidential race, tweeted his frustration Friday, demanding to know why SAG-AFTRA has yet to insist on vaccine passports on TV and movie productions to protect the guild’s 160,000 members.
His demand comes in the midst of a contentious election within SAG-AFTRA, with the guild’s health care plan at the center of the bickering between rival factions. Many older actors lost their health insurance during the pandemic because they failed to meet the guild’s minimum earnings requirement.
Whitford’s tweet highlights a growing chasm between pro-vax celebrities and Hollywood unions, which seem hesitant to impose blanket mandates.
Actress Sharon Stone, who is running for a seat on the SAG-AFTRA board, recently revealed she is refusing to go to work unless there’s a vaccine mandate, claiming the Producers Guild of America won’t guarantee that everyone on a show shooting in Atlanta is vaccinated before she goes to work.
“Will I go to work before everyone on my show is vaccinated? No. No, I won’t,” she reportedly said. “Am I being threatened that I will lose my job? Yes. Yes I am. Will I lose my job if everyone is not vaccinated on my show? Yes. Yes I could.”
Actor Sean Penn recently refused to return the set of his Starz limited series Gaslit unless everyone was vaccinated. He went further this week, saying in an interview that the COVID-19 vaccine should be mandatory.
So far, Hollywood studios are taking a more aggressive approach to vaccination than unions.
Netflix has mandated vaccinations for all actors on its U.S. productions, while corporate employees of Disney and Netflix are also required to get vaccinated before returning to their offices.
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