Fran Drescher defends Kim Kardashian selfie, Italy trip during SAG negotiations: 'It was absolute work'

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher was front and center at Thursday’s press conference announcing that Hollywood’s core acting union would go on strike, blasting the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ (AMPTP) behavior during weeks of failed negotiations as “disgusting,” throwing in a “Shame on you” for good measure.

The Nanny and Hotel Transylvania actress also found herself on the defensive, however, days after drawing intense criticism for a making a weekend trip to Italy for a Dolce & Gabbana promotional event — and snapping a “tone deaf” selfie with Kim Kardashian, posted to the influencer’s Instagram account — as the deadline neared for a SAG-AFTRA work stoppage. “Hollywood fumes at union head Fran Drescher for Italy photo with Kim Kardashian as strike looms,” read a headline in the New York Post, quoting tweets from a handful of angry actors.

Drescher addressed the kerfuffle when asked about it during Thursday’s press conference.

“I’m a brand ambassador for a fashion company and so is Kim,” she explained. “I had only met Kim seconds before that publicity picture was taken. It had nothing to do with being at a party or having fun, it was absolute work. I was in hair and makeup three hours a day, walking in heels on cobblestones, doing things like that, which is work, not fun. I’m sure Kim would have rather been at her home in Malibu with her children too. But we work. That’s what we do.

“And at 10:30 at night, I would leave the event, I would go to my hotel, and I would call into the Zoom. And when I couldn’t get through to them because I was on a plane, I was texting with [SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland] constantly throughout the plane ride. I worked around the clock in three different time zones.”

Drescher then referenced a small army of SAG-AFTRA members standing behind her, adding, “So you know, I think all of the people behind me stand behind me,” drawing cheers from the supporters.

Crabtree-Ireland also fiercely defended Drescher when the criticism was brought up by a reporter, who noted attempts to discredit the president’s commitment to the union.

“I want to say it is outrageous that they would do that,” Crabtree-Ireland said.

“What Fran was doing was Fran was working, which is what our members do. And for these employers to cynically try to turn our members against Fran because she was doing a job, which she was under contract to do, while, by the way, she was Zooming into our negotiations after work hours, working 18 hours or more a day, it is outrageous. It is wrong, it’s despicable, and they should be ashamed of it.”

WATCH: SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher slams studios when announcing actors' strike