Selena Gomez has deleted a photo from social media after being accused of breaking SAG-AFTRA’s strike rules.
Gomez, 31, took to social media on Tuesday, August 29, to post a black and white photo of herself seemingly on the set of her Hulu series, Only Murders in the Building. The photo, which was captioned “Missing and wanting,” generated over 1.1 million likes in 15 hours before it was pulled from Gomez’s profile, according to Variety.
While Gomez did not encourage people to watch the show, she did tag the official OMITB account, leading some to believe the photograph was taken from the show’s set. Many of Gomez’s followers accused her of scabbing due to SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strike rules prohibiting actors from promoting or discussing any struck work. “Tone deaf,” one person commented under the post.
Only Murders in the Building stars Gomez as Mabel alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short, who portray Charles and Oliver, respectively. The unlikely trio become friends after they begin investigating a mysterious death that occurs in their New York City apartment building, and launching a podcast about the mystery. The series, which premiered in 2021, launched its third season earlier this month. Currently, no one from the cast has given any interviews about season 3 due to the ongoing Hollywood strikes.
SAG-AFTRA has been on strike since July, while the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) has been marching the picket lines since May. Both labor unions began their strikes due to similar issues with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) including an agreement on fair wages, residuals and the use of artificial intelligence in the industry.
“This is a very seminal hour for us. I went in thinking that we would be able to avert a strike. The gravity of this move is not lost on me,” Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, stated in a press conference one day before the strike took effect. “It’s a very serious thing that impacts thousands, if not millions of people all across this country and around the world. Not only members of this union, but people who work in other industries that service the people that work in this industry. … We had no choice. We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity.”
On Sunday, August 27, the guild released a statement expanding on the parameters of their interim waiver agreement, which allows actors to promote projects that are independently produced outside the major studios. The statement clarified that those promoting their indie work are not considered to be crossing the picket line.
“To be crystal clear, once an agreement is in place, we fully encourage all of our SAG-AFTRA members to work under that agreement AND to promote work made under that agreement,” the statement read. “The more projects that get made with the Interim Agreement, the weaker the AMPTP becomes. So, let’s lift up our fellow performers who are out there working.”
Celebrities such as Adam Driver, Jessica Chastain and George Clooney are among a few of the A-listers who have indie projects to currently promote and are expected to make appearances at the upcoming 80th Venice Film Festival, which runs from Wednesday, August 30, through Saturday, September 9.
