Marvel Star Sean Gunn Clarifies Netflix Comments After SAG Strike Interview Gets Taken Down

This week, news broke that the actor's guild SAG-AFTRA had officially declared a strike. The strike primarily revolves around the issue of securing residuals for projects that are streamed on various platforms. Notably, several actors, including Marvel star Sean Gunn, were spotted on the picket lines yesterday. While Gunn is widely recognized for his portrayal of Kraglin in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he initially gained fame for his role as Kirk in the hit TV series "Gilmore Girls." Gunn recently participated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter during the picket, where he voiced his concerns about Netflix.

"I was part of the television show called Gilmore Girls for a significant period of time, and it has generated substantial profits for Netflix. It has consistently been one of their most popular shows for over a decade. It is continuously streamed, resulting in substantial revenue. However, I receive an extremely minimal share of that revenue," Gunn expressed during the interview.

However, today, Gunn took to social media to reveal that The Hollywood Reporter had removed the interview.

"The Hollywood Reporter removed a tweet featuring a video interview with me, wherein I discussed my concerns about residuals from 'Gilmore Girls.' They claimed that the residuals I referred to are paid by the studio and not Netflix. This is absolutely preposterous. I never even mentioned the word 'residuals' in my interview. The crux of my point was that we, as actors, do not receive any residuals based on the number of views on Netflix. Instead, we receive a meager amount from Warner Bros. based on licensing. Please do better, @THR," Gunn replied in response to THR's tweet.

The actor further supplemented his tweet with a video addressing the situation.

"Hey, I just tweeted about this, but I wanted to clarify some things in this video. I did an interview with The Hollywood Reporter from the picket line at Netflix yesterday, and they removed that interview, claiming that I didn't mention my residuals not being paid by Netflix, but by the production company, Warner Bros. Firstly, I never used the word 'residuals' in my interview, but that's not the main point. The essence of my interview was to highlight that Netflix does not provide residuals to actors, meaning we do not share in the success of a show with Netflix," Gunn began.

He continued, "It is true that Netflix pays a licensing fee to Warner Bros., and then Warner Bros. pays residuals based on that fee, which, in the case of a long-running show like 'Gilmore Girls,' is an exceedingly small amount. However, when a show becomes a massive success and generates millions of dollars in profit for Netflix, we, as actors, do not partake in any of that success. This is mainly due to the lack of transparency regarding Netflix's financial figures. Ultimately, our goal is fairness for everyone involved, and we simply want a fair deal. If a show achieves success, we believe it is only reasonable for actors to share in that success. I think anyone can relate to that. Hollywood Reporter, if you want to discuss this further, feel free to reach out. But I believe the interview should be reinstated. Peace, everybody." You can watch his video response below:

pic.twitter.com/w8HVi6nrBy

— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) July 15, 2023

Why Is SAG-AFTRA Striking?

In a statement connected to the strike declaration, representatives from SAG-AFTRA disclosed that the strike will commence following four weeks of negotiations with the AMPTP, along with a negotiation extension from June 30th to July 12th. In May, SAG-AFTRA's national board unanimously decided to conduct an authorization vote among its members, and an impressive 97.91 percent of members ultimately voted in favor of authorization.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, addressed the press during a recent conference, marking the 90th anniversary of the incorporation of Screen Actors Guild. He expressed the union's longstanding history of fighting for and achieving numerous gains for working actors. However, he emphasized that a new chapter is now unfolding in the union's history. Following the four weeks of negotiations with the AMPTP, during which the latter failed to offer a fair deal on key issues crucial to protecting the livelihoods of working actors and performers, the SAG-AFTRA national board unanimously voted to issue a strike order against the studios and streamers.