In a video message posted to social media on Friday, Drew Barrymore spoke out for the first time on her decision to resume production on “The Drew Barrymore Show” amid Hollywood’s historic double WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Saying she stands by the decision and that “there are so many reasons why this is so complex,” Barrymore also emotionally apologized to writers and unions impacted by her choice to restart filming this week.
“I’ve been through so many ups and downs in my life, and this is one of them. I deeply apologize to writers. I deeply apologize to unions. I deeply apologize,” she said. “I don’t exactly know what to say because sometimes when things are so tough, it’s hard to make decisions from that place. So all I can say is that I wanted to accept responsibility.”
Barrymore announced the decision to begin filming new episodes of “The Drew Barrymore Show” on Sunday and brought her crew and other non-writing series employees back to work on Monday, saying that “this is bigger than just me.” She added Friday that “there are other peoples’ jobs on the line” if she didn’t.
While the talk show’s union writers were not returning to production, Barrymore emphasized that the series would be in compliance with strike rules when interviewing talent by “not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind.”
The decision was met with widespread backlash, and “The Drew Barrymore Show” was picketed outside its studio while filming Monday. Further headlines were made when two attendees of the show were denied entry for wearing pins in support of the WGA, as they were being distributed on the picket line. On Tuesday, the National Book Awards rescinded their offer to have Barrymore host its 2023 ceremony, citing that her presence would distract from the evening’s mission to celebrate “the incomparable contribution of writers to our culture.”
In a statement to TheWrap on Friday, CBS Media Ventures, the producer of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” defended the daytime talk show’s decision to resume production amid the ongoing WGA strike, claiming that “the season will be completely unscripted until the strike ends.”
In the video posted Friday, Barrymore emphasized that she does “not have a PR machine behind” her decision to resume the talk show.
“I didn’t want to hide behind people, so I won’t, and I won’t polish this with bells and whistles and publicists and corporate rhetoric,” she said. “I’ll just stand out there and accept and be responsible.”
She also offered some of her reasoning for standing by the decision to resume production, despite its obvious backlash. Harkening back to the series’ premiere during the COVID-19 pandemic, Barrymore said that its roots have always been to be “a show that was there for people in sensitive times.”
“I weighed the scales and I thought, ‘If we could go on during a global pandemic and everything the world has experienced through 2020, why would this sideline us?’” she said. “So I want to just put one foot in front of the other and make a show that’s there for people, regardless of anything else that’s happening in the world, because that’s when I think we all need something that wants to be there being very realistic in very realistic times. So that is my why.”
Barrymore is not the only talk show host to reveal this week that they are resuming production during the strikes. “The Talk” and “The Jennifer Hudson Show” were among the projects this week to announce their return, as was “Real Time With Bill Maher,” despite the latter host himself being a member of the WGA.
Watch the actress’ original apology video above and read its full transcript below:
“I believe there is nothing I can do or say in this moment to make it OK. I wanted to own a decision so that it wasn’t a PR-protected situation, and I would just take full responsibility for my actions.
“I know there’s just nothing I can do that will make this OK for those it is not OK with. I fully accept that. I fully understand that. There are so many reasons why this is so complex, and I just want everyone to know my intentions have never been in a place to upset or hurt anyone. It’s not who I am. I’ve been through so many ups and downs in my life, and this is one of them. I deeply apologize to writers. I deeply apologize to unions. I deeply apologize.
“I don’t exactly know what to say because sometimes when things are so tough, it’s hard to make decisions from that place. So all I can say is that I wanted to accept responsibility. And no, I don’t have a PR machine behind this. My decision to go back to the show, I didn’t want to hide behind people, so I won’t, and I won’t polish this with bells and whistles and publicists and corporate rhetoric. I’ll just stand out there and accept and be responsible.
“There’s a huge question of the why. Why am I doing this? Well, I certainly couldn’t have expected this kind of attention, and we aren’t going to break rules and we’re going to be in compliance. I wanted to do this because as I said this is bigger than me, and there are other peoples’ jobs on the line. And since launching live in a pandemic, I just wanted to make a show that was there for people in sensitive times. And I weighed the scales and I thought, ‘If we could go on during a global pandemic and everything the world has experienced through 2020, why would this sideline us?’ So I want to just put one foot in front of the other and make a show that’s there for people, regardless of anything else that’s happening in the world, because that’s when I think we all need something that wants to be there being very realistic in very realistic times. So that is my why.”
For all of TheWrap’s Hollywood strike coverage, click here.