SAG-AFTRA's Halloween Guidance For Members: Don't Dress Up As 'Struck' TV/Movie Characters

SAG-AFTRA has issued formal "Halloween guidance" to "make sure our members don't inadvertently break strike rules" by dressing up as certain TV or movie characters this month.

In a round-up of "quick tips on the dos and dont's for custumes" during the ongoing actors' strike (which is nearing Day 100), SAG-AFTRA is advising its members to choose costumes "inspired by generalized characters and figures (ghost, zombie, spider, etc)" and not in costumes "inspired by struck content."

That said, SAG-AFTRA members are invited to dress up as "characters from non-struck content, like an animated TV show." But a riff on Jenna Ortega's Wednesday (from the Netflix series) or Margot Robbie's Barbie (from the Warner Bros. Pictures co-pro)? That's a big NOPE from SAG-AFTRA.

If you're wondering how this might impact the annual tradition on, say, Live With Kelly & Mark, where Ripa and her co-host cycle through a variety of costumes, a SAG-AFTRA rep tells TVLine, "Kelly &  Mark is not a struck show as it's adhered to our non-struck Network Code Agreement. However, [talk] show hosts should avoid the inadvertent promotion of struck companies and struck work [by not] focusing on costumes depicting characters from struck films/television shows." 

Members of SAG-AFTRA — the labor union representing more than 160,000 performers — have been on strike since July 13, and the outlook for any imminent resolution is bleak, given that the AMPTP walked away from the bargain table last week, while citing a gap "too great" between itself and the guild.

In a lengthy statement posted on social media, SAG-AFTRA countered that the AMPTP had used "bully tactics" in the latest round of negotiations and is "putting out misleading information in an attempt to fool our members into abandoning our solidarity and putting pressure on our negotiators."

"It is with profound disappointment that we report the industry CEOs have walked away from the bargaining table after refusing to counter our latest offer," the labor union's statement read. "We have negotiated with them in good faith, despite the fact that last week they presented an offer that was, shockingly, worth less than they proposed before the strike began."

The AMPTP released its own statement after talks were abruptly suspended, which read, "After meaningful conversations, it is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction... We hope that SAG-AFTRA will reconsider and return to productive negotiations soon."