Bill Maher recently shared his thoughts on the Writers Guild strike and they are sure to be controversial, and there’s no doubt his comments are going to make Hollywood writers angry and lash out at him.
During a recent episode of the Club Random podcast with comedian Jim Gaffigan, Maher talked about the strike saying: “They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky.” He then went on to say that nobody is “owed a living as a writer”, saying:
“What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike, where they kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not. This is show business. This is the make-or-miss league.”
Maher went on to say, “I’m not saying they don’t have points,” and agreed that streaming platforms should be reporting their viewing data. But, Maher also pointed out how the strikes are hurting so many other people in the industry with all-around work at a halt. He said:
“I feel for my writers. I love my writers. I’m one of my writers. But there’s a big other side to it, and a lot of people are being hurt besides them — a lot of people who don’t make as much money as them in this bipartisan world we have where you’re just in one camp or the other, there’s no in between.
“You’re either for the strike like they’re f*cking Che Guevara out there, you know, like, this is Cesar Chavez’s lettuce picking strike — or you’re with Trump. There’s no difference — there’s only two camps. And it’s much more complicated than that.”
Maher went on to say that this strike hit at the wrong time and that the writers don’t really have much leverage at this point. He explained:
“They’re striking against the streamers, who are looking for a get-out-of-jail card for how much they overspend, They have tons of stuff in stock, so they have no reason to wanna settle this strike. They struck at just the wrong time; they have no leverage.”
The strike has been going strong for 127 days and it seems like there’s still not much movement on either side. It doesn’t seem like these strikes are going to end anytime soon. They could go until next year if the two sides aren’t willing to talk, negotiate, and compromise.
What are your thoughts on Maher’s comments about the strike?