Late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers have reportedly stepped up to foot the bill for staffers during the ongoing Hollywood writers strike that started earlier this week.
The hosts of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” will help pay their crews after both shows went dark due to a labor dispute between production studios and the Writers Guild of America (WGA), sources told Deadline magazine
NBC will reportedly cover the first two weeks after the strike began, with the comedian late-night hosts taking over the financial support for the third week, the outlet noted.
NBC late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers are helping to cover their staff’s pay during the Writers Guild of America strike #THRNews pic.twitter.com/gAUE5ifWc5
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 3, 2023
The health benefits for the NBC late-night crew will also reportedly be extended through September.
On Monday, Meyers talked about the impending strike and said he stood by the writers.
“I love writing. I love writing for TV. I love writing this show,” the host said. “I love that we get to come in with an idea for what we want to do every day and we get to work on it all afternoon and then I have the pleasure of coming out here.”
“No one is entitled to a job in show business,” he added. “But for those people who have a job, they are entitled to fair compensation. They are entitled to make a living. I think it’s a very reasonable demand that’s being set out by the guild. And I support those demands.”
The move comes following reports that WGA members voted last month to authorize a strike if the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a trade association that represents a collective of studios, did not approve a new contract with increased minimum compensation and larger contributions to benefits, the Hollywood Reporter noted.
On Tuesday, union members were told to inform their agents, lawyers, and managers that they are “immediately instructed to engage in no further negotiations, meetings or discussions with any struck company concerning my performance of writing services on future or pending projects, or for the sale or option of literary material I have written, alone or with a writing partner,” Deadline noted.
Related: Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon Late Night Shows Immediately Halt Due To Screenwriter Strike