As the SAG-AFTRA actors strike enters the fourth week this Friday, many in the profession are beginning to see finances wearing thin. Then, there are some of the biggest actors in the industry, like Jennifer Lopez and Ryan Reynolds, who are likely more than financially stable and have additional brand deals and businesses of their own to fall back. As it turns out both JLo and Reynolds are part of a growing list of major actors who have donated seven figures each to support SAG-AFTRA strikers.
As SAG-AFTRA reported on Wednesday (per Deadline), the Foundation’s Emergency Financial Assistance Program has already raised over $15 million in recent weeks. It also reported that many have donated $1 million or more, and that list includes many A-Listers like:
- George and Amal Clooney
- Matt and Luciana Damon
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness
- Dwayne Johnson
- Nicole Kidman
- Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck
- Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively
- Julia Roberts
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Meryl Streep
- Oprah Winfrey
That’s a count of 15 actors who have donated a lot of cash to help out SAG-AFTRA as members look to the foundation to help support them during this trying time for the industry. It’s honorable of these people to take some money out of pocket to benefit the many actors in the industry who don’t have massive contracts from movie studios for major franchises or have never received backend bucks for box office successes. There are tons of actors out there who count on Hollywood as a profession, but are nowhere as rich as these A-list actors.
Along with SAG-AFTRA publicly thanking actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Julia Roberts for their massive donations, the Foundation president Courtney B. Vance had this to share about the news:
The entertainment industry is in crisis and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation is currently processing more than 30 times our usual number of applications for emergency aid… We received 400 applications in the last week alone. Our Emergency Financial Assistance Program is here to ensure that performers in need don’t lose their homes, have the ability to pay for utilities, buy food for their families, purchase life-saving prescriptions, cover medical bills and more. It’s a massive challenge, but we’re determined to meet this moment.
Vance also shared that Meryl Streep and George Clooney, both of whom released a statement about joining the strikes, have been longtime supporters of the foundation along with being leaders of its Actors Council. He said they each stepped up, not only with $1 million donations, but by also putting out “many calls to action rallying others to give generously.”
While these actors are certainly doing their part to help amidst the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike, you shouldn’t necessarily expect them to join the picket lines. Per an insider, this is because the richest actors in Hollywood don’t work for scale pay and “don’t need the protection of a better contract.” While you may not see Hugh Jackman or Ben Affleck on the picket line, we’ve seen other major actors like Daniel Radcliffe picketing with his newborn baby, and Oscar nominee Colin Farrell speaking out about his series The Penguin shutting down with picketers.
Along with the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike starting in mid-July, the WGA writers' strike has been going on since May. Both Hollywood strikes are already shifting the 2023 movie schedule and will continue to shut down the movie and TV industry until a deal is reached.
