Drew Barrymore has stepped down as host of Sunday’s MTV Movie and TV Awards show to signal her support for striking Hollywood writers.
“I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,” Barrymore said in a statement to HuffPost on Thursday.
Barrymore, known for CBS’s “The Drew Barrymore Show” and her empathic listening, said she has agreed to host next year’s show instead. But some segments of this year’s show have already been recorded, so there’s a chance video of Barrymore may pop up on viewers’ screens on Sunday, Variety reported.
“Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation. And until a solution is reached, I am choosing to wait but I’ll be watching from home and hope you will join me,” Barrymore’s statement continued.
“I thank MTV, who has truly been some of the best partners I have ever worked with. And I can’t wait to be a part of this next year, when I can truly celebrate everything that MTV has created, which is a show that allows fans to choose who the awards go to and is truly inclusive,” she concluded.
The Writers Guild of America has demanded better wages and bigger writer’s rooms, among other conditions, for film and TV writers. The union went on strike Tuesday after six weeks of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP.
Paramount is part of the AMPTP, as is Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Bros., Discovery, NBC Universal and Sony.
HuffPost reached out to the press office for Paramount, which owns MTV, but did not immediately receive a response.
Bruce Gillmer, president of music, music talent, programming and events at Paramount Global and an executive producer of the awards show, spoke highly of Barrymore to Variety and said this year’s show will now be “hostless.”
Gillmer said that some parts of the show will go on as planned, but the crew has backup plans for other segments. The show won’t feature a red carpet or talent interviews, he said.
“But we have a plan, since the award show is fan-voted, we want to honor the fans’ participation and also honor the talent that earn these awards,” 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.”
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