Kamala Harris Postpones MTV Event Amid Writers Strike

Abid Rahman and Chris Gardner
·2 min read
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Amid the ongoing writers strike, Vice President Kamala Harris has postponed a town hall event organized by MTV next week, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Harris was scheduled to appear at an event to raise awareness of Mental Health Action Day on May 18 at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. In a statement to THR, a spokesperson for the vice president said, “MTV’s Mental Health Action Day Conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris has been postponed.”

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Since Harris’ participation would be seen as crossing the picket line, the event was postponed in solidarity with striking writers, according to a source familiar with the plans.

THR has reached out to MTV for comment.

The news comes on the heels of President Joe Biden wading into the labor dispute between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios and streamers. Speaking before a White House screening of the Disney+ series American Born Chinese, Biden told the crowd that “I sincerely hope the writers strike in Hollywood gets resolved, and the writers are given a fair deal that they deserve as soon as possible.”

Harris is chair of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. The Carson event was set to be Harris’ first public engagement in her home state of California since Biden announced that he was running for re-election.

The postponement of the town hall is the second MTV event to be impacted by the strike. Last week’s MTV Movie & TV Awards was switched from a live event to a pre-taped one at the eleventh hour as a number of celebrities and host Drew Barrymore dropped out in solidarity with the stoppage.

The Los Angeles Times was the first to report the news.

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