Joan Rivers vs. Writers Guild of America
“Fashion Police” guru Joan Rivers is in hot water with the Writers Guild of America.
The Council of the Writers Guild of America East voted to send charges filed against Rivers to a trial board Wednesday, raising the stakes in the ongoing strike of “Fashion Police” writers, Variety reported.
“The writers on that show are paid a fraction of industry-standard compensation and receive no health or pension benefits,” a statement released by the WGA East read.
“We are distressed by reports that Joan Rivers, who worked so hard to create an illustrious career, turned her back on other writers who are still building careers of their own,” added WGA East president Michael Winship in the same release.
“The question of whether she has, in fact, violated our working rules will be decided by the trial board,” he added. “We cannot pre-judge the outcome, but we can say that it is a very serious matter when a member is accused of writing and showrunning on a non-covered show, and continuing to do so after the other writers have decided to go on strike for reasonable pay and benefits.”
Rivers, a lifetime member of the WGA East will appear before a three-person trial board to present her case. The representatives have yet to be chosen.
In a series of Youtube clips released to explain the strikers’ point of view, writers expressed their extreme disappointment at Rivers’ lack of support for the strike.
“The fact that Joan Rivers isn’t just the star, but a member of the Writers Guild and she won’t support her fellow Writers Guild member, is just astonishing to me,”said Nic Rice, one of the writers. “It’s such a basic fairness issue.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30