Actor Sean Gunn speaks out about the minimal residual that he has gotten from Warner Bros. Discovery for the American hit dramedy Gilmore Girls during the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strike.
“I also particularly wanted to come out and protest Netflix,” said Gunn while picketing for the SAG-AFTRA strike.
He shared, “I was on a television show called Gilmore Girls for a long time that has brought massive profits for Netflix. It has been one of their most popular shows for a very long time, over a decade. It gets streamed over and over again, and I see almost none of the revenue that comes into that.”
Though the dramedy Gilmore Girls was being streamed by Netflix, the residuals that Gunn is referencing come from Warner Bros. Discovery, which is the studio that produced and licensed the series to Netflix – wherein, Gunn and his co-stars are being paid the same regardless of how successful the series wherever the studio put its streaming license to.
Gunn is among the many artists who are speaking up about their experience of not being properly compensated for their works in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Several cast members from the Netflix show “Orange Is The New Black” has also shared what they believe is unfair compensation for the hit series.
Kimiko Glenn, who played the role of Brook Soso in the series, reposted a video she shared in 2020 showing her royalty check statement during her time working on the series.
Glenn who appeared in 45 episodes of the series only received a total of $27.30 as part of her royalty, “When I tell you none of us got rich off orange is the new black… ya not even close,” she wrote.
Matt McGorry, who played a corrections officer in the series, also shared his sentiment in a reply to Glenn’s post saying he had to keep his day job the entire time as it paid better than the show.
Beth Dover, who played Linda Ferguson in the series, also replied to this saying that it costs her money to be on the show as she was a local hire.
The SAG-AFTRA strike started last Friday, July 14 (PT) after not reaching an agreement with The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – joining the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike which started last May after a failed negotiation for higher compensation, leading to Hollywood’s first double strike since 1960.
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