Hollywood Strikes: Haynes, Cinnamon, Jones Decry Financial Stress Amidst WGA & SAG-AFTRA Deadlock
Actors Ashli Haynes, Holly Cinnamon, and Kyra Jones have been weathering the joint upheaval of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strikes for over 120 days now. With more than 50 days since actors stopped work, relentless financial stress and uncertainty have become the norm for many in the entertainment sector.
Reporting by Deadline reveals that Haynes, Cinnamon, and Jones are among the many creatives yearning for stability and fair treatment despite the strains of the ongoing industrial action. These strikes, catalyzed by steep concerns over pay and job conditions, continue unabated, with no apparent resolution on the horizon.
Both the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have returned to the negotiation table, but progress appears glacial, as tv and film productions gather dust without any on-set activity.
Haynes, Cinnamon, and Jones, despite their fatigue, believe that this fight for fairness, though psychologically and financially taxing, is a necessary one.
Plying their trade within the intricate cogs of the entertainment industry, Haynes, Cinnamon, and Jones opened up to Deadline about their personal experiences navigating the inner machinations of Hollywood during this period of strife. Their shared anxieties and seated frustrations, a mirror to that of many within their profession, lay bare an industry starkly contoured by these ongoing strikes.
Ashli Haynes, known for her leading role in “Leimert Park” and as Courtney in BET’s “Twenties,” called attention to the delayed residuals payment plaguing many actors. Despite industry standards stipulating payout protocols, Haynes reports not receiving any residuals for the first season of “Twenties” until the second season was greenlit. To date, the second season’s residuals remain elusive, placing further financial strain on the actor amidst the ongoing strikes.
Holly Cinnamon, seen in Netflix’s Marvel series “Daredevil,” expressed concerns around pay transparency, citing instances of unpaid work and arbitrary holds placed on her schedule. Such industry practices, now under the microscope because of the strikes, have rendered financial planning a guessing game for many actors. While Cinnamon stands firm on the importance of the strikes in shaping the industry’s future, she shares her struggles with necessities like rent and financial security.
Kyra Jones, known for her stint in “Empire” and her writing contributions to “Queens” and “Woke,” echoed the concerns of her colleagues, calling attention to elusive residual payments and concerns about job inconsistency. Pitted against the backdrop of the strikes, Jones verbalized apprehensions about Artificial Intelligence (AI) potentially endangering jobs within the industry and diluting the human element of storytelling.
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Now, with the dust of hard facts settled, let's move to dessert.
Can anybody find a side of wit amid the scare of an unending strike, tardy residual checks, and potentially soulless AI writing scripts? Well, probably not. But let's raise a glass to the resilient spirit of our artists and a hope-soaked toast to their future paychecks.
Ashli Haynes - ahead of grabbing an Oscar, she might just win a start-up competition with her side hustle ‘The Star Magic School Bus.’ I mean, who knew the entertainment industry was secretly incubating 'Spiritual Entrepreneurs'? And as for her unresolved residuals woes - no residuals for a whole season? It seems like 'Twenties' needs a fast-forward button on their checks department.
Holly Cinnamon, Toronto-native turned part-time Daredevil and full-time wage-evangelist. Acting day or night, teaching yoga by day, and preaching wage-transparency by daybreak, Cinnamon stands as a testament to the multi-hyphenate personality many creatives are compelled to adopt in this strike-extended Intermission of their careers.
Then we have Kyra Jones, who seems to be catching all the industry loopholes in her path, like a tennis player with a bug zapper racket - no residuals, unpredictable job spells, unimpressed by the prospect of AI, and yet she stands tall, high on her community's shared spirit.
So, here we are, in a new golden era for Hollywood's solidarity where camaraderie is highlighted, resilience is tested, and resilience is exhibited. These strikes may be draining our dear actors, setting the screen paused and the stage empty, but there's no denying that they're revealing some seriously uncensored, raw scripts backstage. Waiting on the right side of the strike's ending, they stand united, as we stand by, hoping for their well-deserved victory lap to come soon.
