Screen Actors Guild Agreement Addresses Hairstyling, Makeup Equity for Non-White Actors

A new Screen Actors Guild (SAG) agreement reportedly includes a hairstyling and makeup policy for non-white actors.

The SAG-AFTRA reached an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) earlier this month after a 118-day strike, which includes a policy addressing hair and makeup in the contract’s “Equity & Inclusion” section, according to a report by The Messenger.

“Each principal performer shall be given the opportunity to meaningfully consult regarding any hair and makeup needs so that production is prepared to work with the performer, including having appropriate hair and makeup products and equipment,” the contract reads.

“If the producer is unable to provide qualified hair and/or makeup personnel to work with the performer, production shall reimburse the performer for the pre-approved cost of obtaining such services,” it adds. “The performer will also be entitled to no less than two hours of compensation for the time spent in such services.”

The new policy comes after years of non-white actors complaining about having to deal with on-set stylists who they say did not have experience with textured hair or non-white skin tones.

Actress Meagan Good, for example, said she “ended up with six tooth marks in the middle of my forehead” when she was a teenager, after a stylist burned her scalp with a hot pressing comb. After that incident, she started bringing her own products to set.

Now, the SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP plan to meet with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) to talk about adding more stylists qualified to work with non-white actors, as well as allocating funds to train more employees.

The new rule will only apply to actors with speaking roles. Background actors will reportedly be excluded.

“What happens to the other people?” Stacey Morris, a former hairstylist and barber on black-ish, asked.

But Towanda Underdue, a SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee and board member, said the union will prioritize extras on the next contract.

“There are so many persons of color that have been discriminated against and it seemed like it was just a normal thing that we dealt with and we didn’t always feel heard,” Underdue said. “But now we feel heard.”

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