Is Your Fave a Scab?

This is a running list of the many notable people who are supporting the writers in their strike against Hollywood studios (“REAL ONES”) and of the handful of lonely abject boss-loving shitbirds who are not (“SCABS”).

“Notable,” “support,” and above all “scab” are being defined loosely. For our purposes a scab is anyone with clout of one kind or another who lends support, implicit or explicit, to the cause of the studios.

Do you know of any REAL ONES or SCABS? Please fill out the form. If you feel someone has been categorized in error, please email realonesandscabs@gmail.com.

Disclaimer: The WGA has nothing to do with this. The info below is sourced via friends, readers, media accounts, eyewitness reports, pure gossip, shit we overheard at a bar, etc.

The List

  • REAL ONES

    Adam Schiff: Via Twitter. Barbara Lee for Senate anyway.

    Aidy Bryant: Via source.

    Alex Wagner: Via eyewitness. “Refused to cross Upfronts picket.”

    Alfred Molina: Via Twitter.

    Amy Schumer

    Angela Kinsey: Via Instagram.Via Twitter

    Mayim Bialik: Via Twitter.

    Boots Riley: Via Twitter. None realer. Refusing to promote his movie even if doing so wouldn’t run afoul of the strike rules. So real he actually stood up for Imagine Dragons.

    Boston University grads, class of 2023: Chanted “pay your writers!” at David Zaslav during his commencement speech.

    Bowen Yang: Via Twitter.

    Bradley Whitford: Via Twitter.

    Britt Lower: Via source. “Seen at Silvercup picket.”

    Bun B: Via Instagram. Chosen, one of the few.

    Busy Philipps: Via IG story.

    Che Diaz: Via Source.

    Chris Pine: Via Twitter.

    Christopher Nolan: Via Twitter.

    Clark Gregg: Photographed at May 3 picket.

    Creed Bratton: Via Instagram.

    Curtis Armstrong: Booger! Via source. “Seen at Silvercup picket.”

    Cynthia Nixon: Via Instagram.

    David Chase: Via Twitter.

    David Moscow: Via Twitter.

    Drew Barrymore: Via Variety.

    Edie Falco: Via Twitter.

    Flava Flav: Via Twitter.

    Fran Drescher: Provisionally real. Scabby initial remarks were concerning but taking SAG to a strike authorization vote so early in the process was real as hell.

    Fred Armisen: Via source.

    George Saunders: Via his Story Club newsletter.

    Gillian Flynn: Via Twitter.

    Gina Gershon: Photographed at May 3 picket.

    Glen Mazzara: Via Deadline.

    Haley Joel Osment: I see real people! Via source at Disney picket.

    Helen Hunt: Via Instagram.

    Ilana Glazer: Photographed at May 3 picket.

    James Austin Johnson: Via source. “Seen at Silvercup picket.”

    James L. Brooks: Via Twitter.

    James Mangold: Via IndieWire. Saying the right things about the writers while promoting his movie puts him somewhere north of scabby but south of real. Verdict: Realish.

    Jason Woliner: Via Twitter.

    Jay Leno: Straight up scabbed in 2007-8 but making the proper gestures for now. Probationary real one.

    Jennifer Coolidge: Via Twitter.

    Jenny Slate: Via source.

    Jimmy Kimmel: Scabbed in 2007-8 but so far, so good in 2023. Probationary real one.

    John Hodgman: Via Twitter.

    John Mulaney: Via Twitter.

    Justine Bateman: Via Twitter. As long as we’ve got each other…

    Kamala Harris: Via the AP. Still a cop

    Kate Flannery: Via Instagram.

    Kathleen Kennedy: Via IndieWire. Gave equivocal support to the writers. A half-stepping class traitor is still a class traitor.

    Katie Maloney: Via Give Them Lala podcast, 5/16/23.

    Lala Kent: Via The Hollywood Reporter.

    Larry David: Via Twitter.

    Lester Holt: Via eyewitness. “Refused to cross Upfronts picket.”

    Mandy Patinkin: Via Twitter.

    Mark Hamill: Via Twitter.

    Maya Erskine: Spotted at the Disney picket.

    Maya Rudolph: Via The Hollywood Reporter: “A source close to the production said picketing members of the Writers Guild of America arrived at the Bel-Air mega-mansion that is used for filming the series Friday, and Rudolph is said to have retreated to her trailer, unwilling to return to work.”

    Michael J. Fox: Via Twitter.

    Michael Rapaport: Via Washington Post.

    Neil Gaiman: Via Twitter.

    Niecy Nash: Via Twitter.

    Padma Lakshmi: Via Twitter.

    Paul Dano: Via Twitter.

    Paul Scheer: Via source.

    Pete Davidson: Delivered pizzas to picketers in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

    Rich Sommer: Spotted at a picket.

    Rob Lowe: Via Twitter.

    Rob Reiner: Via source. “Was screaming/yelling out of car but not technically on picket.” We’ll count it.

    Sara Ramirez: Via source.

    Sarah Squirm: Via Twitter.

    Seth Meyers

    Seth Rogen: Via Twitter.

    Shea Serrano: Via the LA Times and Twitter. Minuses: Doing a ton of promo for his new show. Pluses: Certainly giving more support to the strike than he did to the union drive at The Ringer. Verdict: Realish.

    Snoop Dogg: Via Twitter.

    Some dogs: Via Twitter.

    Stephen Colbert: Scabbed in 2007— remember all that cutesy business with the strike beard? Saying the right things for now.

    Tavi Gevinson: Via IG story.

    Titus Welliver: Bosch! Spotted at a picket.

    Weeezer: Via Twitter.

    Zach Cherry: Seen at Silvercup picket.

    Zoe Kazan: Via Washington Post. Take that, Grandpa.

  • SCABS

    We are using a loose definition of “scab” and thus including those whom we (and you) feel are crossing a picket line of the mind.

    Aaron Sorkin: Forever a scab for this 2010 interview.

    Anderson Cooper: Recorded a bit for Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront, per Strikegeist. Vanderbilts haven’t always been so gentle in their union-busting.

    Andrew Ross Sorkin: Crossed the picket line as part of the JV team that presented at the 5/15 NBCU upfront. Hack. Via Strikegeist.

    Aziz Ansari: [Update, 5/22: Production has been shut down.] As of 5/16 he was still shooting, or trying to shoot, his feature directorial debut, Good Fortune. Reports Deadline: “Ansari’s call time, we hear, was at 5pm which is the time producers were hoping picketers would leave. But they did not.” Apparently tried to shoot again 5/17 in LA’s Glassell Park, but “threat of a picket sent the crew packing,” per a Deadline comment.

    Casey Affleck: Was shooting The Instigators in the Boston area as of 5/11, along with Matt Damon. Via Boston.com.

    Guy Fieri: Recorded something for Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront, per Strikegeist. General strike in Flavortown!

    Jimmy Fallon: Stopped paying staff, according to 5/15 HuffPost report.

    Ken Jennings: Answer: This is something Blossom wouldn’t cross but Ken would. Question: What is a picket line?

    Matt Damon: Was spotted early a.m. 5/9 working on The Instigators (an Apple Original also starring Casey Affleck). Was also shooting in Boston as of 5/11, per Boston.com. What would Howard Zinn say?

    Paul Giamatti: Via source. Was overheard at a bar bitching about picketers shutting down 5/4/23 Billions shoot.

    Stephanie Ruhle: Via Strikegeist. Crossed the picket at 5/15 NBCU upfront, where she introduced NBC and Peacock’s fall TV lineup and “drew parallels between news reporters and scripted drama creators—both ‘raise the curtain on other worlds’.” Would’ve expected more of someone who was once Credit Suisse’s highest-producing credit derivatives salesperson in the US.

    Todd Phillips: Forever a scab for this 2010 interview.

    Tyler Perry: Hasn’t said anything about the strike, at least not that we can tell, but he’s done enough union-busting in the past to deserve a place on this list. Hellurr!

    Willie Geist: Bill Geist’s kid presented some sort of SNL montage at the NBCU upfront.