National Book Awards Drops Drew Barrymore as Host
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Drew Barrymore is facing ramifications after announcing that her talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, will return while the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are ongoing.
On Sept. 12, the National Book Foundation, which presents the National Book Awards each year, shared that Barrymore is no longer invited to host the event due to her recent actions.
The foundation's social media account on X (formerly known as Twitter), posted a message saying, "The National Book Awards is an evening dedicated to the power of literature, and the incomparable contributions of writers to our culture. In light of the announcement that 'The Drew Barrymore Show' will resume production, the National Book Foundation has rescinded Ms. Barrymore's invitation to host the 74th National Book Awards Ceremony."
"Our commitment is to ensure that the focus of the Awards remains on celebrating writers and books, and we are grateful to Ms. Barrymore and her team for their understanding in this situation," concluded the announcement.
An update on the host of the 2023 National Book Awards. pic.twitter.com/aa5aLh0FIU
— National Book Foundation (@nationalbook) September 12, 2023
Many thanked the organization for their decision and show of solidarity, with one person commenting in response, "Thank you for standing up for writers' rights, even at the cost of whatever it took to break the contract. As a reader and an artist, I see you and am grateful for the institutional support of our creative futures."
The National Book Foundation's actions come only days after Barrymore released a statement to explain her reasoning for her talk show's return. While some people stood by Barrymore's decision, she received a lot of backlash.
Notably, Barrymore claimed that her show's return follows all of the WGA strike guidelines, but the Writers Guild of America, East wrote on X, "The @DrewBarrymoreTV Show is a WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers. The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike. Any writing on 'The Drew Barrymore Show' is in violation of WGA strike rules."
The @DrewBarrymoreTV Show is a WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers. The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike. Any writing on “The Drew Barrymore Show” is in violation of WGA strike rules.
— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) September 10, 2023
David Slack, a TV writer, producer, and former member of the WGA West board, told TODAY.com of the situation: "It’s incredibly hard to imagine that nobody at that show is performing at least some of the work that writers normally perform."
“Anyone performing work that is work normally done by a striking worker, that person is a scab,” Slack added, referring to a term meaning someone who continues working for a struck company or project during a strike.
Neither Barrymore nor The Drew Barrymore Show has directly responded to the backlash after the host's recent statement, nor has she addressed the National Book Foundation's decision.
As of writing, the talk show is still scheduled to return on Sept. 18.
