Joining the picket line outside Disney in Burbank, California, the Rebecca Pearson on the award-winning drama particularly stresses the residual issue which she dubs a 'huge issue.'
- July 19, 2023
AceShowbiz - Mandy Moore is paid "very tiny" paychecks from the streams of "This Is Us". The 39-year-old actress, who portrayed Rebecca Pearson on the award-winning drama from 2016 to 2022, joined the picket line outside Disney in Burbank, California on Tuesday, July 18, amid the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike. And she revealed that she is paid an abysmal amount, around "81 cents" since Hulu bought the series from NBC in 2017.
She told The Hollywood Reporter, "The residual issue is a huge issue. We're in incredibly fortunate positions as working actors having been on shows that found tremendous success in one way or another … but many actors in our position for years before us were able to live off of residuals or at least pay their bills."
She added, "I was talking with my business manager who said he's received a residual for a penny and two pennies." "Scandal" star Katie Lowes has also received mere pennies for the streams from her Netflix series and insists it's impossible to live off residual payments.
She said, "If you are someone who has been fortunate enough in our positions to do 120-plus episodes of a successful show in previous years - 10, 15, 20 years ago - that re-airing would be the thing that could sustain you on years where I did this smaller project or I wanted to go do a play or you have kids and you have a family to provide for. And that just not a reality anymore. The entire model has changed."
The Screen Actors Guild union ordered a strike across TV, theatrical and streaming productions which was made effective on July 14, and will mark the biggest shutdown in Hollywood for more than 60 years as the Writers Guild Strike enters its 73rd day on strike, meaning that most entertainment projects in the U.S. will cease production.
The strike comes amid concerns over wages for actors and creators in the industry alike, AI technology, and how the profits of digital streaming on services such as Netflix and Disney+ can be divided.
Fran Drescher, the president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, said in a press conference, "At some point, you have to say no: 'We are not going to take this anymore!' You cannot change the business model as much as it has changed and not change the contract too. If we don't stand tall right now, we are all in trouble."
