Zac Efron, Fran Drescher, Jeremy Allen White, and More Actors React to SAG-AFTRA Strike End

Sara Delgado
·6 min read
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The actors strike is over! Since the news broke on November 8, actors have been rejoicing and sharing their reactions online — or live on-camera, if you're Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White, who learned of the strike's end while literally on the red carpet.

As announced on Wednesday evening, SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), putting an end to a historic strike that has lasted 118 days.

“We have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes ‘above-pattern’ minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus," SAG-AFTRA's negotiating committee announced to guild members over email last night, per Vanity Fair. The tentative agreement will have to go through the SAG-AFTRA national board for review on Friday, November 10 before it's fully implemented if ratified.

“Today’s tentative agreement represents a new paradigm,” the AMPTP added about the new deal. “It gives SAG-AFTRA the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last forty years; a brand new residual for streaming programs; extensive consent and compensation protections in the use of artificial intelligence; and sizable contract increases on items across the board. AMPTP is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement and looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.”

The actors strike began on July 13, two months into the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, which ended on September 24. Much like writers did then, actors across the country are celebrating the new deal and the end of the strike with gusto.

SAG-AFTRA union president Fran Drescher (yes, that's The Nanny) was among the first to shout out the tentative agreement publicly. "We did it!!!! The Billion+ $ Deal! 3X the last contract! New ground was broke [sic] everywhere!" she wrote on Instagram, using the hashtag #SagAftraStrong. "Ty [SAG-AFTRA] members for hanging in and holding out for this historic deal! Ty neg comm, strike captains, staff, Duncan & Ray, our lawyers, the IA team, family and friends. Our sister unions for their unrelenting support! And the AMPTP for hearing us and meeting this moment!"

Abbott Elementary star and creator Quinta Brunson took to her Instagram stories to highlight the tentative deal. "Oh, we're very back," she wrote against a black background, sharing Variety's X post announcing SAG-AFTRA's deal approval. Brunson also tapped into her meme repertoire on X to reply to a fan asking if the strike ending meant season three of Abbott Elementary would start filming soon. Brunson simply quoted the post with a video of Tokyo Toni saying, “Well, yes!”

Never Have I Ever Star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan also picked X as the platform to share her excitement over SAG-AFTRA's deal. "THROW ME IN AUDITION ROOMS LETS GOOOOO!!😭😭❤️❤️" she posted, before dialing back her enthusiasm. "Lemme just not say anything rn and wait like a few more hours," she added. "Then you guys can get all my opinions on the new movies I've seen that I've enjoyed during the strike."

Zac Efron was at the premiere of his new film The Iron Claw when he found out about the strike ending. (ICYMI: the movie had a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement and was greenlit for promotion.) When presented with the breaking news, Efron said it felt "incredible" and added: "I'm so happy we were all able to come to an agreement. Let's get back to work. Let's go. I'm so stoked. I literally just found out a minute ago, so this is great news. Congrats, everybody. We did it."

Efron's co-star Harris Dickinson was right beside him when the news was first presented to both. "You're joking, don't tell me that now," Dickinson told Deadline. "Let's get out of here and get back to work," he joked immediately after. "That's great news, particularly for the crews."

Jeremy Allen White, who also stars in the movie, also learned about the deal on the red carpet. "That's amazing," he told an Entertainment Tonight reporter. "It makes me feel incredible. I don't know the details of the deal, but I'm sure that SAG got what we wanted, what they wanted. And I'm so happy too, our crews, they don't stand to benefit from this agreement, so they just get to go back to work."

Netflix star Emily Rudd, who stars as Nami in the streamer's new live-action adaptation of One Piece shared the SAG-AFTRA post to her stories, adding: “I'm about to be so insufferable.”

<h1 class="title">Emily Rudd SAG-AFTRA Strike End</h1><cite class="credit">Courtesy of Emily Rudd/Instagram @emilysteaparty</cite>

Emily Rudd SAG-AFTRA Strike End

Courtesy of Emily Rudd/Instagram @emilysteaparty

Actor Lisa Ann Walter, known for her roles in Abbott Elementary and The Parent Trap, also celebrated the union's work on her Twitter/X account. "We worked hard. And didn't cave when some were trying to force it. And got the deal we needed at the end," she wrote in response to a post by California congressman Adam Schiff.

Kumail Nanjiani also quoted Variety's deal announcement post, adding his two cents. "YES!!! Hallelujah. I can tweet a certain trailer that I am VERY EXCITED ABOUT at midnight," he wrote, seemingly referring to the new Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire trailer.

Actor Daniel Dae Kim chose to err on the side of caution, sharing Deadline's link about the tentative deal on X and adding: "Woo hooo!!!! Let's hope the deal is fair and we can get back to work!"

Actor and writer Dani Fernandez highlighted the power of unions in her celebratory post. "Union strong. Being both WGA and SAG I have been on strike since May 2nd. Good lord. Thank you to everyone who had our back. Thank you to all my sister unions for joining the lines. Thank you to our strike captains, neg com, and pre guild folks who showed up. Strikes work," her first post read. "Thank you to my journalist friends who covered us, shared my posts, or gave me a platform to speak on issues, and loudly let folks know where you stood," she added in a follow-up before sharing a scene from It's A Wonderful Life to illustrate the power of teamwork.

Octavia Spencer shared her excitement over the deal on Instagram. "Ready to work now that the strike is over! 🎉🎉🎉 Congratulations, and thank you to our @SagAftra negotiating committee! Proud to stand in solidarity with all SAG members over the last 118 days 🎉🥳👏🏾🎊🙌🏽🍾 #SAGstrike #SAGstrong."

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue

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