Jennifer Coolidge shows support for writers’ strike in MTV Movie & TV Awards acceptance speech

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

Jennifer Coolidge loves two things: popcorn and screenwriters.

Coolidge made this clear in a pre-recorded speech shown during Sunday’s MTV Movie & TV Awards broadcast, where the “White Lotus” star accepted a special Comedic Genius award.

After commenting on the irony that the golden popcorn statuette is that of her favorite food (she was later seen snacking on some real popcorn while accepting another award for best frightened performance), Coolidge showed some love to the members of the Writers Guild of America, who are currently on strike.

“Almost all great comedy starts with great writers and I just think that as a proud member of SAG (the Screen Actors Guild), I stand here before you tonight side by side with my sisters and brothers from the WGA that are fighting right now, fighting for the rights of artists everywhere,” Coolidge said.

She went to quote William Shakespeare, saying, “the play is the thing.”

“I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but I think it’s EVERYTHING,” she concluded, before breaking out in a dance while “Jump Around” by House of Pain played in the background.

Joseph Quinn, who won best breakthrough performance for his role of Eddie Munson in Season 4 of “Stranger Things,” also referenced the ongoing strike, saying in his pre-recorded speech, “being a writer is a hard job, and it deserves respect.”

Pedro Pascal gave a shout-out to writers as well, while accepting the best show award for “The Last of Us” on behalf of showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. “We’re standing in solidarity with the WGA that is fighting very hard for fair wages,” he said.

Members of the WGA began picketing on May 2 after the guild and the major studios and streamers failed to reach a deal on a new contract. The strike has already affected numerous productions, including the MTV Movie & TV Awards itself.

Drew Barrymore stepped down from her hosting duties to support the writers, and a pre-taped broadcast aired instead of what was supposed to be a live show after the WGA West announced plans to picket outside the Los Angeles event venue. Pre-recorded bits featuring Barrymore and pre-taped speeches by winners were aired, with clips of past MTV Movie & TV Award moments filling the space in between award handouts.

Other productions impacted by the strike include all of the network late night shows, which went dark on Tuesday as the strike began, along with “Saturday Night Live,” which canceled this weekend’s show that would’ve seen alum Pete Davidson returning as host.

Netflix’s “Stranger Things” also announced on Saturday that they’ve halted production on Season 5 due to the strike, further delaying the highly anticipated final season.

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