Drew Barrymore will no longer host the upcoming MTV Movie & TV Awards show. She released a statement announcing the decision, which she made in support of the ongoing WGA strike.
The actress’s decision has left the award show planners scrambling to reorganize their event in time. Paramount Global executive Bruce Gillmer has explained that one of Barrymore’s recorded tapes might still be used.
The Writers Guild started its strike earlier this week after several failed negotiations with their studios and executives. Despite Barrymore’s decision, Gillmer still spoke warmly of her and said she’s “been incredible” to them.
Read on to find out more.
Drew Barrymore Withdraws From Her Hosting Duties
Drew Barrymore has officially stepped down from her hosting duties at the upcoming MTV Movie & TV Awards. She decidedolidarity with Hollywood writers who are on strike through their WGA Union.
Barrymore released a statement, per Variety, “I have listened to the writers, and to respect them truly, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike. Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television comes from their creation. And until a solution is reached, I choose to wait, but I’ll be watching from home and hope you will join me.”
In the statement, the actress thanked MTV for being “some of the best partners I have ever worked with.” Despite her decision to step down as host of this year’s show, Barrymore shared that she’s already agreed to host next year’s award show as an olive branch to the studio.
The Award Show Is Reorganizing Its Event
Barrymore’s decision to step down caused significant problems for MTV, as the award show is meant to air on Sunday. Now, the studio is running around to hold the show with the possibility of having no host. Producers are also waiting to see if any other celebrities involved will pull out similarly to Barrymore.
For now, the MTV award show has already taken emergency measures, like cutting off its red carpet walk. Despite Barrymore’s physical absence from the event, she has several pre-taped segments that may still be used.
Paramount Global executive Bruce Gillmer, an executive producer on the MTV Award show, spoke on the issue. He said that Barrymore’s clips might be used to open the show, but they haven’t decided how to commence the event without a host.
He also hinted that some prospective award winners already have tapes of their possible acceptance speeches. Gillmer said, “We’re going to be super respectful of the talents’ decisions to either be involved in pre-tapes, show up or not show up, whatever they decide. We’ve got backup plans and coverage just in case, so the short answer is, I’m not sure yet.”
The Writers Strike Started This Week
The Writers Guild Of America officially started the union strike earlier this week after failed negotiations with its studios. The writers are fighting for residual payments now that streaming is so prominent and improved staffing requirements. The strike has affected several major talk shows across America.
Barrymore, for example, is one of those not majorly affected by the strike. Her talk show, “The Drew Barrymore Show,” has its current season entirely filmed. This means she can air episodes unaffected by the strike but still choose to speak out for the writers.
Another show, “The Talk,” has many union writing staff, so they won’t be able to air any episodes during the strike. Shows like “Live With Kelly And Mark” and “The View” have been able to air several episodes, but they may not be able to run for long.
Paramount Exec Speaks Warmly Of Drew Barrymore Despite Her Decision
Despite Barrymore’s decision to step down as host of the MTV Award show, Gillmer still spoke warmly about the “50 First Dates” star. During a conversation with Variety on the current situation regarding the strike, he said Barrymore has “been incredible.”
He stated, “Drew, without question, she’s been incredible. It’s hard to imagine that we’ve ever had a better experience with a host. She’s really more of a partner; she’s in it every day, just super passionate, engaged, and creative. She even bought some of her team along for the journey.”
Gillmer shared that when the strike started, MTV executives had already “started to prepare for what could be.” He expressed they all have “full respect” for Barrymore’s decision to stand in solidarity with the writers union. Gillmer concluded that Barrymore has the studio’s “full support.”
