Mandy Moore Slams SAG-AFTRA's Misplaced Priorities On Halloween Costumes Tip

Tensions are bound to run high when a strike action has moved from days to months, but Mandy Moore is not mincing words on SAG-AFTRA's latest pronouncement.

The actress called out the striking SAG-AFTRA body as it instructed its members to boycott Halloween, especially on the choice of costumes. Moore has been vocal about residual pay frustrations and has consistently been on the picket lines in the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

The "This Is Us" actress ranted on her Instagram Story after SAG-AFTRA released its new guidelines for members on Halloween. She uploaded a picture of a magazine headline that read, "Halloween on Strike: SAG-AFTRA Tells Members to Not Dress Up as Characters From Struck Companies."

In her strong rebuttal against the decision, which she felt was not the "important" thing that the body's focus should be on, and ultimately describing it as a joke, the actress wrote:

"We’re asking you to negotiate in good faith on our behalf. So many folks across every aspect of this industry have been sacrificing mightily for months. Get back to the table and get a fair deal so everyone can get back to work. Please and thank you."

The whole thing started when SAG-AFRA released a set of guidelines for its members to follow during the spooky season. A statement was issued on the body's website that read:

"This Halloween, we wanted to make sure our members don't inadvertently break strike rules and have put together some quick tips on the dos and don'ts for costumes. Check them out and have a spooktacular Halloween!"

The union added a graphic that stated that its members should choose only costumes inspired by generalized figures and characters from non-struck content like an animated show. Members were also advised not to share pictures of their costumes that may have undertones or inspiration from struck content on social media.

According to the body, the idea behind the guideline is to "send a loud and clear message to our struck employers that we'll not promote their content without a fair contract."

The SAG-AFTRA covers about 160,000 actors, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists, announcers, and other media professionals.

The Halloween notice comes days after the union announced that recent negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have failed to yield a positive result. The union shared that the industry CEOs have left the bargaining table as they refused to counter the latest offer. They added:

"We have negotiated with them in good faith, despite the fact that last week they presented an offer that was, shockingly, worth less than they proposed before the strike began."

Moore's concern about the strike and the union's decision is not superficial, as the actress disclosed in July that she does not earn as much as the fans think. Despite her two decades-old career in Hollywood, the actress took to the street to protest the low wages and even had a few things to say:

"The residual issue is a huge issue. We're in incredibly fortunate positions as working actors having been on shows that found tremendous success in one way or another but many actors in our position for years before us were able to live off of residuals or at least pay their bills."

Per The Blast, her streaming residuals from "This Is Us," where she played the role of Rebecca Pearson from 2016-2022, raked in "very tiny, like 81-cent checks" despite the series' massive popularity.

She continued that a conversation with her business manager revealed he received a residual for a penny and two pennies. The mom of two shed light on the issue in a lengthy Instagram caption, which read:

"I fully acknowledge the profoundly lucky and rarified position I'm in as an actor at this moment, one that I don't take for granted and one I also don't assume to be in forever. Ours is a fickle industry and in my 20+ years of being a performer, my career has ebbed and flowed. 

She added that she had "very lean years" where she could not get a job, stating that those are the moments when actors and entertainers could use the residuals "from their past work to help them get by." 

Moore broke into the industry in the 2001 hit movie "Dr. Dolittle 2," she has since starred in numerous blockbuster productions. She has been a SAG-AFTRA member since 1999.