Writers Guild of America members and local allies picketed outside while the crowd in the stadium booed David Zaslav and made clear to the industry executive that “we don’t want you here.”
As unionized film and television writers across the United States continue to strike, Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav was met with critical chants both inside and outside of Boston University’s Sunday commencement ceremony, during which he spoke and received an honorary degree.
After weeks of negotiating with Zaslav’s company as well as Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, and Sony under the the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the Writers Guild of America (WGA) launched the strike in early May, saying that “the studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing.”
That same week, BU announced Zaslav as a commencement speaker, sparking backlash from students, alumni, community members, and the WGA, East director of communications, Jason Gordon, who expressed “deep disappointment with the university over its poor decision” to provide the industry CEO with a platform.
“Boston University should not give voice to someone who wants to destroy their students’ ability to build a career in the film and television industry,” Gordon told The Boston Globe. “The university should expect students, Writers Guild members, as well as other unions and community groups to picket Zaslav’s commencement address.”
WGA membersĀ deliveredĀ the promised picket with support from local allies,Ā includingĀ members of BU Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) and Boston DSA, who made signs thatĀ said: “F*!# Zaslav! Solidarity With the Writers.”
After getting booed by BU students David Zaslav had to cross the WGA picket line and Scabby the rat on his way out of the VIP exit. Sorry not sorry. pic.twitter.com/odtWKKw8ij
— Annie Stamell (@stamos) May 21, 2023
Within Nickerson Field, “boos and expletives rained down” on Zaslav, who graduated from the BU School of Law in 1985.
During hisĀ speech, the CEO did not address the ongoing strike, “or the several dozen students who turned their backs to him, and instead shared the strategies that helped him become one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures,”Ā reportedBU Today.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was met by a huge WGA-DSA picket at BU's commencement today ā with hundreds outside, plus Scabby and a plane, as BU grads turned their backs and drowned him in boos and chants
— šŖš¼šæš°š²ššš²šæ šš¦š š¹ (@WorcDSA) May 21, 2023
Pay your writers, David, and get the fuck out of Massachusetts pic.twitter.com/kSZ7PvbOV6
AsĀ The A.V. Club‘s Sam BarasantiĀ wroteĀ Sunday:
It seems like, for those of us who weren’t there, that Zaslav’s speech was as stunningly out-of-touch with reality as the decision to host him was in the first place, which speaks to a general contempt he seems to have for… oh, let’s sayĀ everyone.
This is a man who was put in charge of a massive media empire, and the most notable things he has done with that power areĀ burn money,Ā dismantle one of the most prestigious brands in entertainment, double-dip onĀ promoting J.K. Rowling, kick off theĀ now-common trend of studios deleting content from their streaming servicesĀ and making it completely inaccessible in some cases, andāhow can we forget?ādriving the writers who make his shows and movies to go on a strike that may soon lead to similar strikes from the DGA andĀ SAG-AFTRAĀ that would render Hollywood completely motionless.
According toThe Hollywood Reporter, “‘We don’t want you here,’ ‘Pay your writers,’ and ‘Shut up, Zaslav’ could be heard emanating from the crowd, messages similar to theĀ prepared chantsĀ for the picket, including some created by the school’s YDSA chapter members and school students who were inspired by BU hockey chants.”
Enjoy a free serotonin boost every time heās forced to pause! https://t.co/HHbduZ9Fid
— DSA-LA's Hollywood Labor (@hollywood_labor) May 21, 2023
The WGA is thankful to all the B.U. graduates for chanting "Pay your writers" at Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav while he delivered the #BU2023 commencement address. #WGAStrike https://t.co/p0kky3RyUp
— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) May 21, 2023
AsĀ The Hollywood ReporterĀ detailed:
Students from BU’s College of Communications, which houses its film and TV program, as well as the College of Fine Arts and some enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences, were among those who had expressed interest or were expected to take part in the ceremony protest, according to Vanessa Barlett, a graduating senior who helped lead the student-ledĀ writers strikeĀ solidarity event inside Nickerson Field.
“I’m in the same college as a bunch of film and TV kids,” Barlett, who studied political science and journalism and was among those who created the day’s official chants, toldĀ The Hollywood ReporterĀ ahead of the event. “I’m friends with a lot of people in the College of Fine Arts, people who are in the theater arts program, so having a sense of solidarity is very important to me.”
Some progressive lawmakers also weighed ināincluding Sen.Ā Bernie SandersĀ (I-Vt.), whoĀ tweetedĀ that “if Warner Bros Discovery can afford to pay its CEO David Zaslav $286 million in compensation over the past two years, it can afford to pay its writers much better wages and benefits. Mr. Zaslav: Listen to the Boston University students and the Writers Guild. Pay your writers.”
šØš¼āš¼ āYou have to listen to people you disagree withā
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 21, 2023
š£ļø āPay your writers!ā
šØš¼āš¼ āNo, not me. Not like thatā
Striking workers’ demands from studios, which include pay increases and limits on artificial intelligence, “would gain writers approximately $429 million per year,”Ā according toĀ WGA. “AMPTP’s offer is approximately $86 million per year, 48% of which is from the minimums increase.”
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