Studios’ Shutdown of the Entertainment Industry Puts Diverse Representations at Risk

At a press conference this week announcing GLAAD’s annual Studio Responsibility Index, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland raised concerns that the promising gains in LGBTQ+ representation may be lost in 2024 and beyond due to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ (AMPTP) delays in restarting negotiations with the writers and actors unions.

“The studios’ and streamers’ insistence on keeping the industry shut down not only harms the economies of communities that rely on motion picture production, but it’s also detrimental to the pipeline of future projects that feature LGBTQ+ representation,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “Though some gains have been made in recent years, storytelling that reflects the full, true spectrum of the human experience is currently under attack. The AMPTP companies are complicit in this regressive push if they continue preventing artists from getting back to work and making their worldview-changing stories. Everyone deserves to grow up seeing their identity authentically represented in film and media. The companies must come back to the negotiating table, make a fair deal, get writers and performers back to work, and help all of us use the profound power of the medium — along with empowering LGBTQ+ representation — to build a better, more welcoming future for generations to come.”

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said, “Right now, there's a very tiny but loud segment of our population that's hard at work spreading hate and fear while attempting to squash all storytelling that showcases the full, beautiful reality of the human experience. Seeing diverse representation on screen is vital for empowering everyone to embrace their authentic selves. Sadly, the longer the AMPTP companies keep the entertainment industry shut down by refusing to come back to the bargaining table, the more risk there is for disrupting the progress that's been made in terms of inclusive representation."

Jason Stuart, co-chair of the SAG-AFTRA National LGBTQ+ Committee, which he co-founded with Crabtree-Ireland in 2005, said, “Seeing diverse representation on screen is particularly important for young people. They deserve to see themselves on screen. The actors and the writers know this. This is our lived reality.”

GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis stressed the importance of LGBTQ+ representation remaining on track. "LGBTQ stories told through film have a powerful and inextricable link to culture change. With more people than ever now empowered to live authentically and openly, the cost of lost progress in LGBTQ representation on screen means erasure."

The joint GLAAD press event, which was held in Hollywood at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza, included a number of SAG-AFTRA and WGA speakers who amplified the critical need for actors, writers and creatives at all levels to get back to work or risk erasing the progress made on LGBTQ+ representation in recent years.
 
GLAAD’s Studio Responsibility Index maps the quantity, quality and diversity of LGBTQ+ characters in film. The study is often used as a road map for studios, identifying priorities and opportunities to increase and improve fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ+ representation and storytelling in film.
 
At the conclusion of his remarks, Crabtree-Ireland said, “So to the AMPTP companies, I say, ‘Come back to the bargaining table.’ Let’s make a deal and end this stalemate so we can get back to doing what we do best; sharing our diverse and authentic stories.”

Photo: Speaking at the announcement of GLAAD’s Studio Responsibility Index, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland calls on studios and streamers to restart negotiations so future films with LGBTQ+ representation can enter the production pipeline. Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for GLAAD.

All photos by Vivien Killilea/GLAAD.