Vice President Kamala Harris has pulled out of an MTV mental health awareness appearance in Carson next week, her first planned appearance in her home state since she and President Biden announced their re-election campaign.
The decision was made in solidarity with Hollywood screenwriters go on strike in the hope that the event will be rescheduled, according to sources familiar with Harris’s plans.
She was scheduled to appear with a surprise guest celebrity and young leaders May 18 at Cal State Dominguez Hills for a town hall to raise awareness of the Day. Action for Mental Health. Led by MTV, the initiative “aims to empower young people to seek out and educate themselves about peer support programs on campus and in their communities,” according to the statement. a press release about the event.
Harris chairs the White House Task Force on Employee Organization and Empowerment and is likely to cross the line if she attends the event.
The Writers Guild of America, which represents 11,500 members, began a strike on May 2 after the expiration of its contract. The first strike in 15 years comes as the entertainment industry undergoes a major transformation because of streaming services.
Featured writers are demanding an increase in the minimum wage, better residual payments from streaming content, and more contributions towards healthcare and pension costs. factory said it had made concessions on compensation and remaining amounts but balked at other demands.
The news of Harris’s withdrawal from the event comes a day after Biden called on studios to reach a “fair deal” for writers during his speech at a White House screening of “Chinese Americans” in honor of the film. Asian American, Native Hawaiian. and Pacific Island Heritage Month.
“Nights like these are a reminder of the power of stories and the importance of treating storytellers with the dignity, respect, and value they deserve,” Biden said. tell the crowd. “I sincerely hope the Hollywood writers strike will be resolved and the writers will get the fair deal they deserve as soon as possible.”
A spokesman for MTV, Cal State Dominguez Hill and the guild did not respond to requests for comment.
This is the second MTV event to go on strike. The cable station canceled Sunday’s live broadcast of the MTV Movie & TV Awards after the host Drew Barrymore dropped out of school in solidarity with prominent writers.
“I’ve listened to the voices of the writers and out of respect for them, I’m suspending the live MTV Movie & TV Awards in solidarity with the strike,” she said in a statement. “Everything we celebrate and celebrate about film and television is born out of their creation.”
