The SAG-AFTRA union has told striking members to “celebrate Halloween this year while also staying in solidarity” with the ongoing labor dispute, banning actors from wearing any costumes associated with “characters from non-struck content, like an animated TV show.”
SAG-AFTRA published a post on its website with its advice on how members should be seen in public during the annual Halloween festivities.
Instead of trick-or-treating as Barbie and Ken, industry outlet Variety reports the guild recommended striking actors “choose costumes inspired by generalized characters and figures,” like, say, a “ghost, zombie, spider, etc.,” or “characters from non-struck content, like an animated TV show.”
The union then quickly qualified the warning by saying it only applied to members – not their children – as the strike that began back in July continues to roll on.
“SAG-AFTRA issued Halloween guidance in response to questions from content creators and members about how to support the strike during this festive season. This was meant to help them avoid promoting struck work, and it is the latest in a series of guidelines we have issued,” a guild spokesperson told Variety on Friday afternoon.
“It does not apply to anyone’s kids. We are on strike for important reasons, and have been for nearly 100 days. Our number one priority remains getting the studios back to the negotiating table so we can get a fair deal for our members, and finally put our industry back to work.”
Stephanie Sanditz, a member of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, carries a sign on a picket line outside Netflix studios on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
The clarification came after a number of members dismissed the costume guidelines as “silly bullshit” and “infantile.”
“THIS is what you guys come up with? Literally no one cares what anyone wears for Halloween,” former SAG President Melissa Gilbert wrote on Instagram in response to the union’s Halloween suggestions.
“I mean, do you really think this kind of infantile stuff is going to end the strike? We look like a joke. Please tell me you’re going to make this rule go away… and go negotiate!”
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The Variety report detailed Gilbert then directly tagged the Instagram accounts of current SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
She wrote, “For the love of God, people are suffering mightily and this is what you have to say… c’mon guys… This is the kind of silly bullshit that keeps us on strike. ‘Let’s enact a policy that makes us look petty and incompetent at the same time.’”
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