Stephen A. Smith spoke on the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike on Friday, a strike that’s set to shut Hollywood down effectively. The ESPN personality made it clear: He’s firmly behind the strikers.
Smith addressed the situation as “serious business” on The Stephen A. Smith Show. He transitioned to it and spoke about the ongoing crisis. Threats of artificial intelligence, low pay, residual issues with streaming, and other extensive problems led to the strike. It’s also the first time since 1960 that both unions are striking, which makes the situation all the more significant.
“This is serious business,” Smith said. “I support the writers; I support the unions in this regard,” he said after he noted that the strike won’t affect him or his job. He said they inserted an artificial version of Harrison Ford in the newest Indiana Jones movie. Smith emphasized that the threat of A.I. is “very serious.”
The ESPN personality said he didn’t know the terms of the offer. However, he is supporting ‘the little guy’ in this argument. He reminded everyone that he had previously covered collective bargaining agreements, so he’s heard a lot.
Smith took the time to recognize that he didn’t want to “denigrate” the big Hollywood companies. He also said that people have been “overpaid” in Hollywood and that “someway along the way, there has to be a happy medium.”
He also talked about how the shutdown in the TV world could lead to a rise in unscripted reality television. A similar boom, as the longtime personality pointed out, occurred around the time of the previous writers’ strike in the late 2000s. And that everyone also needs to pay attention to the trickle-down effects, with how cuts are being made all over at Disney, Amazon, and others. Also included: A warning about the Election. How this might have an effect on everything and everyone, from the strikers to business owners, among others.
In the end, though, Smith said that everyone will have to negotiate. But he did leave by saying, “I support the writers. I support the unions because, obviously, they’re the little guy. In the grand scheme of things, going up against the big guy, you usually lose.
“But the big guys are saying, ‘The pandemic ravaged us. And not only did the pandemic ravage us, but you also have a lot of stuff that’s not succeeding at the box office. And the advent of artificial intelligence gives us a new way to make additional money without having the same amount of expenditures.”
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022