It seems the Writers Guild of America has finally had enough of President Donald Trump’s ongoing attacks on independent media, and it seems CBS’s firing of Stephen Colbert was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
In the open letter signed by more than 2,300 members of the WGA, the WGA members express their growing concern over what they describe as “dangerous and escalating attacks on the First Amendment, independent media, and the free press.”
The letter appears to be a direct result of Paramount’s recent actions, taking aim at the $16 million settlement paid out following President Trump’s lawsuit against 60 Minutes. It then goes on to call into question Paramount’s decision to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, making it clear that they do not buy the network’s excuse for cancelling The Late Show noting, “And yet Paramount still asks us to believe that the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was not about politics or merger approval.”
The letter also directly calls out the Trump Administration’s recent attack on The View, which came under fire from the White House following comments co-host Joy Behar made during a July taping. Following Behar’s criticism, which referenced the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and saw Behar calling Trump “jealous of Obama] for being everything that Trump is not, the White House warned that Behar should “self-reflect on her own jealousy of President Trump’s historic popularity before her show is the next to be pulled off air."
These comments came on the heels of Trump celebrating Colbert’s firing, alluding to Jimmy Kimmel being next to go, and calling Jimmy Fallon a moron who ruined The Tonight Show.
It’s indeed an unprecedented time for both daytime and late-night hosts who continue to come under fire from the White House and President Trump directly for their commentary and criticism against Trump. Trump continues to call out members of the media who criticize him and his administration, with each day seeming to bring about a new target.
The WGA has clearly had enough and is taking action, rallying its members to sign the letter and join the more than 2,300 members who have already spoken out about their concern over their work being “under attack.” The letter has been signed by the creative forces behind some of TV's biggest shows, including several writers with connections to hit late-night properties, including Amber Ruffin (Late Night With Seth Meyers), Sarah Sherman (Saturday Night Live), and Merrill Markoe (Late Night With David Letterman).
You can read the letter in full below:
We are members of the Writers Guild of America who speak with one voice to decry the dangerous and escalating attacks on the First Amendment, independent media, and the free press.
We are a union of screenwriters, television writers, and journalists built and sustained on the bedrock belief that bold storytelling, fearless comedy, and unflinching reporting are indispensable to a free and democratic society. We have always understood that fidelity to those beliefs could lead to attacks from our bosses, from corporate interests, or even from politicians. Still, we have always understood our role in a healthy democracy.
Now we face an unprecedented, authoritarian assault. In the last few months alone, President Trump has filed baseless lawsuits against news organizations that have published stories he does not like and leveraged them into payoffs, most notably at Paramount, which settled a meritless lawsuit against 60 Minutes for $16 million. He has retaliated against publications reporting factually on the White House and threatened broadcasters’ licenses. He regularly calls for the cancelation of news and entertainment television shows that criticize him in late-night and, most recently, The View.
Alarmingly, the bulk of the federal government has now joined these attacks. Congressional Republicans collaborated to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in order to silence PBS and NPR. The FCC openly conditioned its approval of the Skydance-Paramount merger on assurances that CBS would make “significant changes” to the purported ideological viewpoint of its journalism and entertainment programming. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has echoed Trump’s threats.
And yet Paramount still asks us to believe that the cancelation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was not about politics or merger approval.
These are un-American attempts to restrict the kinds of stories and jokes that may be told, to silence criticism and dissent.
We don’t have a king, we have a president. And the president doesn’t get to pick what’s on television, in movie theaters, on stage, on our bookshelves, or in the news.
We call on our elected representatives and industry leaders to resist this overreach. We call on our audiences, on every single person ready to fight for a free and democratic future, to raise their voice.
This is certainly not the first time that free speech has come under assault in this country, but free speech remains our right because generation after generation of Americans have dedicated themselves to its protection. Now and always, when writers come under attack, our collective power as a union allows us to fight back. This period in American life will not last forever, and when it’s over the world will remember who had the courage to speak out.
At this time, President Trump has not responded to the WGA's letter, but we imagine a formal statement is inevitable.
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