‘Dancing With The Stars’: SAG-AFTRA Backs Actors Appearing On ABC Show

It’s been a busy few days in the world of Dancing with the Stars.

Matt Walsh, star of HBO’s Veep and a member of the WGA, has paused his involvement in the ABC show after much pressure from the Writers Guild. Competitors such as Oscar-winner Mira Sorvino and How I Met Your Mother‘s Alyson Hannigan have also faced calls to stop tangoing.

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However, in a statement today SAG-AFTRA backed its members who choose to participate in the series, which is set to premiere on Tuesday night.

It noted that as a result of the Network Code agreement they are not in violation of strike rules and are required to go to work.

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“We support them in fulfilling their contractual obligations,” the union noted. “The majority of our members on Dancing with the Stars had contractual obligations to the show prior to the strike. Many are under option agreements that require them to return to the show if the producer exercises their option which the producer has done.”

It added that as part of the Network Code Collective Bargaining Agreement, the stars are also subject to a no strike clause. “By not showing up to work, our performers can be held in breach of contract and the Union is prohibited from advising them not to work,” it added.

SAG-AFTRA also reaffirmed its solidarity with the WGA; Dancing with the Stars is a WGA-signatory show and traditionally employs one writer. “We stand with our union siblings across the industry as we also recognize our obligations under federal labor law,” it said.

The move comes as ABC is mulling postponing the premiere date of the show and putting plans in place for alterative programming if it needs to.

Other actors appearing on the show include Doctor Strange’s Xochitl Gomez, The Brady Bunch’s Barry Williams and Zoey 101’s Jamie Lynn Spears.

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