When asked at the Met Gala Monday night about his thoughts on the Writers Guild of America strike, Jimmy Fallon said, “I wouldn’t have a show without my writers, I support them all the way through.” But according to a worker on his show, that “subsidy” didn’t pan out on Tuesday when it was announced that NBC would stop paying them starting next week.
“He wasn’t even in the meeting this morning to tell us we wouldn’t get paid after this week,” Sarah Kobus, who works as an image research coordinator at the The Tonight Show, he tweeted on Tuesday. she added,@employee Please support your employees. I had a good time bowling with you last week, but a fun party won’t pay my rent.”
Kobos, who previously helped lead the fight for Wirecutter’s syndication deal with New York timesShe explained that she is not part of the WGA and is therefore not a striking worker, but is among those whose jobs will be affected by the measure.
“In a meeting where Jimmy was not present, we were told NBC has decided to stop paying us after this week and to end our health insurance after this month if the strike continues,” she wrote. “They wouldn’t even tell us if we were technically going to be furloughed. Just active, unpaid employees.”
Cobos, who later spotted The Tonight Show At the New York City picket line Tuesday afternoon, anchor Steve Higgins explained to The Daily Beast that senior NBC officials have indicated that employees will keep health insurance “at least through” the end of May and can file for unemployment starting Monday.
like Chicago Tribune Critic Nina Metz chirp In response, “It helps to understand the ways in which studios choose to jeopardize the livelihoods of other staff/crew. Given that Fallon is the face of his show, it seems inappropriate that he not be present until this meeting.”
By contrast, Cobus added, “I was told that Seth Meyers was at the Zoom production meeting and that he would try to take care of his staff and crew after NBC stopped paying.” During the previous writers’ strike, which ran from November 2007 through February 2008, late-night hosts including David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Conan O’Brien reportedly paid their non-striking employees out of their own pockets.
The Daily Beast reached out to Fallon’s reps, W.L.L The Tonight Show For comment but has not yet received a response.
Last week, before the strike took effect and production was halted across all major nighttime shows — except for Greg Gutfeld’s “Comedy” show on Fox News — Myers used his platform to offer a message of support for the union.
“I am good at one thing, and that is writing, and I love writing very much. I am extremely proud of the fact that I have become a professional writer,” Myers He said in his “Corrections” segment on Friday. “I mention this because, as of midnight, there may be a writers’ strike. And if a writers’ strike happens, it will shut down production on many shows.”
the in late Time of night He added, however, that the strike “would really be a miserable thing for people to have to go through, especially considering that we are in the aftermath of this terrible pandemic that has affected, obviously, not just show business, but all of us.” He concluded, “I also feel very strongly that what writers are asking is not unreasonable. As a proud member of the guild, I am very grateful to have an organization that looks out for the best interests of writers.”
As of Tuesday night, the show is hosted by Fallon, Myers, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel — plus The Daily Show, which featured a rotating lineup of guest hosts – reruns would begin airing. HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher And Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Will follow suit this weekend.
Saturday Night Live He was set to return May 6 with an episode hosted by former cast member Pete Davidson, but comedian writing collaborator Dave Sirus has confirmed that it will be cancelled. Twitter“We had no choice but to strike so SNL stopped.”
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