CREATOR NEWSLETTER
Issue #167 | Sept. 12, 2023
As a baby of the late 1990s, I first met Drew Barrymore as a fairy princess in “Ever After.” She was my grungey teenage fashion mentor. And as a fellow little girl frightened and delighted by extraterrestrials, I loved her in “E.T.” My parasocial relationship with Barrymore has been one of my last remaining tethers to the celebrity icons of my childhood. Now, I, unfortunately, must say, rest in peace.
To many creators’ disappointments, “The Drew Barrymore Show” announced it will resume filming for its fourth season this week—disobeying the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike rules. To be clear, most daytime talk shows like Barrymore’s are currently unaffected by the ongoing strike. Unlike late-night shows, most of these shows don’t employ union writers. However, “The Drew Barrymore Show” does employ a handful of WGA staffers, thus qualifying it as a struck project.
Barrymore herself seemed a bit confused on Instagram about whether the move to continue her show disobeyed the strike’s rules, though it’s now clear she is in violation. On Sunday, the WGA announced plans to picket the show’s taping this week. In a shocking update today, two Barrymore fans attending the show’s recording also came forward and said they were kicked out of the studio for wearing WGA pins handed to them by picketers outside.
It’s hard to believe Barrymore is a scab. The child star, propelled to fame through Spielberg’s “E.T.” at age 7, survived an abusive alcoholic home life and traumatic upbringing in the industry. She is a fortified legend for any child of an alcoholic parent, an abusive home, or of Hollywood’s toxic culture. “The Drew Barrymore Show” is her magnum opus, a pinnacle of truth-telling and vulnerability seldom seen in the rolling hills of Los Angeles.
Famously, in an episode with child star Jennette McCurdy, Barrymore unpacked the complicated stage mom abuse dynamics both of them experienced. And in an episode with fellow survivor Brooke Sheilds, Barrymore vulnerably reflected on her experience with Hollywood’s pedophilia problem.
In doing so, Barrymore has spoken out for every abused person, both in and out of the limelight. As Barrymore and Shields remarked in their episode, in some ways, their stories are “all of our stories,” just “played out differently.”
Still, Barrymore is both like all of us and definitely not like all of us at the same time. She has an understanding that her experience of pain is not unique, yet her position as a multi-millionaire product of nepotism (with a family genealogy of actors stretching back to her great-great-great-great-grandparents) is far from normal.
As news of Barrymore’s scabbing emerged over the weekend, some users slammed Barrymore for the end of her “sweet and innocent branding.” Others suggested that it “was always sus.” I don’t know if I think that’s true—I think Barrymore has been a rare and genuine voice in this space, something that makes many people uncomfortable.
This latest scabbing behavior is just a letdown for those of us who wrongly built a celebrity we don’t know to be something of a hero.
Barrymore’s framing on Instagram suggested she is making her choice to restart her show out of empathy for her many employees, saying the show “may have her name on it but is bigger than just her.” Which is why her decision is so perplexing. Barrymore could, after all, pay for her staff’s salaries throughout the strike out of her own pocket, as late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and Stephen Colbert have done.
THE COMMENTS SECTION
“Drew Barrymore has always been someone who recognized her privilege and aimed to evolve, so I hope she will reconsider this hasty decision intended to pay her crew because it weakens both unions to openly endorse scabbing. She could personally fund their salaries for eternity.”
—Writer Gennefer Gross (@Gennefer) on Barrymore’s scabbing.
That said, Barrymore will no doubt survive this blip. She is, after all, a cultural titan. And a large percentage of her audience will more than likely remain unaware of this news.
Still, it’s not too late for her to stand in support of the writers who make her show possible—it’s just a question of whether she will hear and listen to disappointed fans like me.
– Grace Stanley, Newsletter and Features Editor
THE DARK SIDE
Scamley Nickels: Inside ‘The Office’ Actor’s Bait-and-Switch Kickstarter Crypto Scheme
An Office Kickstarter, a tie-in crypto token, and the fans who got less than they bargained for.
By Jared Bailey, Passionfruit Contributor
SPONSORED
Put yourself in the best light
Meet the ultimate portable kit for the creator on the go from Lume Cube. With the Mobile Creator 2.0, you get lighting, a tripod, a microphone, and a Bluetooth shutter remote to elevate your content to the next level.
IN THE BIZ
- Barstool Sports is accused of running 40+ content-swiping accounts on X (formerly Twitter) that repost copyrighted sports highlights and viral clips, later shared by official Barstool accounts.
- TikTok accidentally blocked searches related to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) during the ongoing writers’ strike while attempting to moderate QAnon conspiracy content.
- X is facing scrutiny for running unlabeled ads in users’ following feeds, sparking concerns about transparency and user experience.
- Speaking of X, its terms of service have been updated to prohibit crawling and scraping of its platform, tightening data access and usage policies.
- Two women accusing influencer Andrew Tate of human trafficking have filed a protective order to preserve their anonymity. They say they’ve faced doxxing, harassment, and threats from Tate’s fans and associates, with strangers even showing up at one victim’s parents’ home.
SNOWED IN
The Never-Ending Scandals at the Center of Esports Winter
Constant scandals related to VC funding have destroyed the goodwill in esports.
By Steven Asarch, Passionfruit Contributor
THE AI BOOGEYMAN
Worried About the Boom of AI Influencers? Don’t Be
AI influencer Noonoouri just got a record deal. But virtual creators have yet to garner the staying power of actual human ones.
By Kristin Snyder, Passionfruit Contributor
JOB BOARD
- YouTuber Lexi Hensler is looking for a YouTube strategist and a thumbnail designer.
- Gaming reactor TheProGamerJay is looking for a video editor.
- YouTuber Vince Vintage is looking for a writer.
- “Minecraft” creator ChrisDaCow is looking for a video editor.
SPORTS BALL MADE ME DO IT
In honor of the US Open coming to a close, I pay homage to our favorite tennis YouTuber moment of all time. 🏳️🌈
Copyright © 2022 Passionfruit, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up to get the latest tips, tricks,
and trends in the creator economy from Passionfruit.
Have an idea for our next big story or want to get featured? Email us at tips@passionfru.it
Don’t want to hear from us anymore?
Click here to unsubscribe
To view in your browser click here