Current:Home > StocksBilly Porter says he needs to sell his house 'because we're on strike' -FutureWise Finance
Billy Porter says he needs to sell his house 'because we're on strike'
Indexbit Exchange View
Date:2025-04-09 13:38:40
Billy Porter may have to make some sacrifices as the SAG-AFTRA actors strike wages on.
The actor, 53, who is currently starring in the musical "A Strange Loop" in London, criticized media giants and discussed the strike in an interview with the Evening Standard released Saturday.
"The business has evolved. So the contract has to evolve and change, period," Porter said, referring to the battle with streaming services over residuals.
He added: "To hear (Disney CEO) Bob Iger say that our demands for a living wage are unrealistic? While he makes $78,000 a day?"
Igor recently came under fire for his comments about the actors' strike and Writers Guild of America strike. "There's a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive," he said on CNBC in July.
Porter continued that despite his perceived fame, he is deeply affected by the strike.
"I have to sell my house," he said. "Because we’re on strike. And I don't know when we're gonna go back (to work)."
The "Pose" alum added, "The life of an artist, until you make (disposable) money — which I haven't made yet — is still check to check."
"I was supposed to be in a new movie, and on a new television show starting in September. None of that is happening," Porter explained. "So to the person who said, 'We're going to starve them out until they have to sell their apartments,' you've already starved me out."
The latter quote refers to a Deadline article in July that cited an unnamed Hollywood executive that said studios plan to let writers go broke before coming back to the negotiation table. "The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses," the source said.
Billy Porter demands respectfor drag queens with Fox's 'Accused': 'Drag is not perverse'
Hollywood actors began striking in July, 2 months after writers strike started
Hollywood actors voted to strike in July, joining already-striking writers in a move that shut down the production of countless movies and TV shows.
Meanwhile, writers have been on strike since May, holding out for improved payment contracts at a time when less-than-lucrative streaming deals are bumping up against the looming threat of artificial intelligence taking writers' jobs. Actors are also looking for better pay deals, especially from streaming services such as Netflix.
The combined SAG and Writers Guild of America strikes immediately shut down TV shows and movies currently in production; it has already delayed "Challengers," starring Zendaya, which had been set to debut at Venice International Film Festival but has now been pushed to 2024.
SAG-AFTRA is worried about AI,but can it really replace actors? It already has.
The strike terms also halt promotional appearances ranging from red carpet walks to media junkets. While the duration of the strike is an unknown, some reports suggest studios are willing to hold out into the fall to win concessions.
Screen Actors Guild president Fran Drescher told USA TODAY last month that the union has "discussed what it would cost if it went for six months, so we're looking for the long haul. The gravity of a commitment like this is not lost on any of us. It's major. But we also see that we have no future and no livelihood unless we take this action, unfortunately."
Contributing: Kelly Lawler and Marco della Cava
veryGood! (54)
Related
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
Ranking
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
Recommendation
Bodycam footage shows high
Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding