President Joe Biden voiced his support for the Hollywood writers’ strike Monday after his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said that the White House would not interfere in the dispute.
“I sincerely hope the writers’ strike in Hollywood gets resolved and the writers are given a fair deal they deserve as soon as possible,” Biden said during an event commemorating Asian Americans at the White House.
“This is an iconic, meaningful American industry, and we need the writers, and all the workers and everyone involved to tell the stories of our nation and the stories of all of us,” the president added.
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Biden’s comments follow closely on an announcement from the Writers Guild of America early in May that they would launch a strike for the first time in 15 years.
But less than one week ago on May 2, Jean-Pierre claimed that the White House would not speak publicly on the Hollywood strike.
“You’ve heard us say many times before, we don’t speak to an ongoing strike,” Jean-Pierre told reporters during a White House press briefing.
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“We’ve said this over and over again, as we’ve been asked when different entities and you see workers strike in those different entities. We’ve been very clear,” she said, adding that the White House encouraged “both sides to stay at the table” but also that the president “supports labor.”
“Nights like these are a reminder of the power of stories and the importance of treating storytellers with the dignity, respect and the value they deserve,” Biden also said during the Monday event intended to honor Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
Late-night show hosts including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have all shut down their shows and are airing re-runs until the strike is lifted.
“Everybody including myself hopes both sides reach a deal, but I also think that the writers’ demands are not unreasonable,” Colbert said on his CBS show. “I’m a member of the guild. I support collective bargaining. This nation owes so much to unions… Unions are the reason we have weekends. And by extension, why we have TGI Fridays.”
Meyers added on his NBC program, “For those people who have a job in show business, they are entitled to fair compensation. They are entitled to make a living.”
In a recent interview, Fallon said the show would go dark and he would support the guild in the result of a strike. “I couldn’t do the show without them,” he said.
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Fox News’ Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
