Members Entertaining, Informing, Helping Others

WHILE BROADCAST MEMBERS CONTINUE to work through the pandemic to keep the public informed, many performers safer at home followed the adage that the show must go on, particularly if it’s helping and entertaining others.

Whether it’s Matthew McConaughey virtually calling a bingo game for residents of a senior community, John Legend singing and playing piano from his home, Dolly Parton reading bedtime stories or John Krasinski sharing good news online, SAG-AFTRA members continue to find creative ways to stay connected with others at this time when so many are feeling isolated.

Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Samuel L. Jackson, Pharrell Williams, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Awkwafina and many other members joined together from their respective places of isolation for the One World: Together at Home global broadcast and digital special to support frontline healthcare workers and the World Health Organization.

Christina Aguilera, Demi Lovato, Josh Groban, Beyoncé and other members virtually came together with minimal equipment and a whole lot of harmony to entertain with The Disney Family Singalong. The special was a tribute to those on the frontline and supported Feeding America, which operates food banks across the nation. Unity was the overarching theme, and as Beyoncé finished her performance of When You Wish Upon a Star, she sweetly promised that “we’ll get through this.”

Rosie O’Donnell brought together her talented friends online, each remote of course, to raise over $600,000 for The Actors Fund emergency financial assistance fund, while Seinfeld star Jason Alexander and friends raised more than $260,000 for the CDC Foundation. Michael Urie performed live online his hit one-man play Buyer & Cellar as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund.

Sean Penn’s Community Organized Relief Effort has helped launch free COVID-19 testing sites in several states. Members LeBron James and President Barack Obama delivered messages for Class of 2020 grads during a special virtual ceremony. Meanwhile, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation presents Quarantine, a digital series airing on IGTV that follows the cast of a fictional soap opera, while raising funds for its COVID-19 fund.

SAG-AFTRA members entertained and informed the world before and during the pandemic and will continue to do so long after the pandemic ends.

This item originally featured in the SAG-AFTRA magazine spring 2020 issue.