Jamie Lee Curtis Criticized "Both Sides" Of The SAG-AFTRA Strike And Said She Hopes "No One Will Be Happy" With A Settlement

    "I don’t like the them vs. us. The fact that there’s a them and an us bothers me."

    Larry Fitzmaurice
    by Larry Fitzmaurice

    BuzzFeed Staff

    As the SAG-AFTRA strike continues, more actors are publicly weighing in about their feelings regarding the ongoing strike.

    the picket line of strikers with their signs
    Hollywood To You / GC Images

    Arrow actor Stephen Amell made headlines earlier this week after he walked back comments suggesting that he was against striking as a tactic.

    closeup of him
    Jesse Grant / Getty Images for FilmRise

     "I understand fundamentally why we’re here," he said in an IG post after his initial comments went viral. "My off the cuff use of the word 'support' is clearly contradictory to my true feelings and my emphatic statement that I stand with my union. Of course I don’t like striking. Nobody does. But we have to do what we have to do."

    Earlier this weekend, Shazam! star Zachary Levi also had to walk back comments referring to the strike parameters as "so dumb."

    closeup of him at an event
    Hubert Vestil / Getty Images

    "Let me be very clear," Zachary said in a statement. "I fully support my union, the WGA, and the strike. I remain an outspoken critic of the exploitative system that us artists are subject to work in since I started my journey in this business 25 years ago.”

    Now, Jamie Lee Curtis has entered the fray.

    closeup of her at an event
    Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images

    During a recent interview with Variety, the veteran actor expressed neutrality when it came to the SAG-AFTRA's negotiations with the AMPTP. “I’m hopeful that we can all see all sides," she said. "I’m more Switzerland."

    Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images

    "AMPTP" is short for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

    "I’m not a polarized person here," she explained. "I don’t like the rhetoric on both sides. Any settlement means nobody’s happy. So there will be a settlement and not everyone will be happy."

    Mike Marsland / Mike Marsland / WireImage

    "I don’t like the them vs. us," she continued. "The fact that there’s a them and an us bothers me. It’s one industry and I hope that all of the sides can recognize the oneness of our industry, and that we are interdependent, and that AI is not interdependent, that human beings are and at the end of the day our interdependency with each other will prevail.”

    closeup of her
    Taylor Hill / Getty Images

    It should be noted that Jamie has been vocally supporting SAG-AFTRA in public. Here's an IG post from earlier this week with pictures straight from the picket line.

    That said! Jamie also gave comment to Reuters about the strike at a Project Angel Food event in Los Angeles (where the Variety convo also took place), and she reiterated her relative neutrality while also offering her perspective on what the best possible outcome could look like.

    Jamie Lee Curtis spoke out about the Hollywood actors strike saying, ‘I hope that I can be Switzerland in all this,’ but was hopeful that a settlement could be done pic.twitter.com/8OFb8ygSk9

    — Reuters (@Reuters) August 4, 2023
    @Reuters / Via Twitter: @reuters

    "The issues are real, and my hope is that no one will be happy with a settlement, but we will get back to work," she said. "That's just the nature of a settlement — both sides aren't happy."

    jamie at comic con
    Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images

    "We're all gonna have to give up something to get something, and I hope that what we get to do, ultimately, is continue our work."

    Steve Granitz / FilmMagic

    You can learn more about the SAG-AFTRA strike here.

    UPDATE: Jamie has issued a clarification regarding her earlier remarks. "I FULLY SUPPORT the @sagaftra strike, have volunteered making signs multiple times and have donated to the relief fund," she said. "I SUPPORT the leadership and SUPPORT our demands. I'm a rank-and-file union member. I am not on any negotiating committee. I believe we have to look at all sides in any conflict in order to find resolution, solution and a fair and equitable settlement." Read her entire statement here.