Writers Guild of America, East, shows Ellen no puppy love

‘Ellen DeGeneres went back on the air this week after honoring only one day of the writers strike. In anticipation of her plans to tape shows in New York City on Nov. 19 and 20, the Writers Guild of America, East, is extremely disappointed to see that Ellen has chosen not to stand with writers during the strike. Ellen’s peers who host comedy/variety shows have chosen to support the writers and help them get a fair contract. Ellen has not. On her first show back, Ellen said she loves and supports her writers, but her actions prove otherwise. ‘Ellen has also been performing comedy on her show. Even if Ellen is writing those segments herself, since those segments would normally be written by the writers on strike, she’s performing ‘struck work.’ Ellen is violating the strike rules that were clearly explained to all of the comedy/variety shows. ‘We certainly intend to let Ellen know our dissatisfaction in person if she decides to proceed with the shows she has scheduled in New York on Nov. 19 and 20. We will also make our voices heard the preceding week if she tries to pre-tape comedy segments on location. ‘We find it sad that Ellen spent an entire week crying and fighting for a dog that she gave away, yet she couldn’t even stand by writers for more than one day -- writers who have helped make her extremely successful. ‘Every show and film set has a production staff and crew that is beloved by their writers. Ellen’s staff is no more important than the rest of the industry. When shows refuse to stand with us they create huge revenue streams for the companies, and that prolongs the strike for the thousands of staff and crew members who are noble enough to honor our picket lines. We find this situation hurtful to those people and extremely unfortunate. ‘The writers did not cause this strike....We ask Ellen to cease doing shows immediately. She should stand by all writers and help us bring this strike to a quick conclusion. We owe that to the thousands of people who are caught in the middle. ‘If you agree that Ellen should stand with the writers on strike, please contact her and tell her so at: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/show/dearellen/. Or contact the show’s production office at (818) 260-5600.’