NEW YORK CITY — Queens native and “Nanny” star Fran Drescher brought her signature laugh to the City Council to rally their support in a serious fight: actors are strike.
ut before Tuesday’s City Council members could hear Drescher, the president of the Screen Actors Guild, strike, she experienced a minor technical glitch when her microphone wouldn’t turn on.
Then a quick switch, and Drescher’s self-described “sweet” New York accent filled the Council chambers.
“You’ll regret it,” she joked before flashing her famous smile.
Drescher’s laughter then turned to the grim story of what she said prompted the actors union, SAG-AFTRA, to join their Writers Guild counterparts in a historic strike that left Nearly all film and television production had to stop. Her testimony came as the City Council’s labor committee considered a resolution supporting the strike.
Actors and writers are striking largely because they say entertainment executives have stubbornly and offensively sought to purge what remains of online media.
“We can no longer live under the old legacy model,” Drescher told Council members.
Drescher also spoke out against the “audacity” of executives who she said were seeking to pay background actors for a day’s work, scan their likenesses and use artificial intelligence to Use them forever in scenes.
“It stops here, we are at a very serious crossroads.” “This is a just war and they are on the wrong side of history.”
Actors, including many stars, rallied across New York City as the strike took place.
