Clooney, Streep, MacFarlane among celebs to donate $1M to help actors during strike

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Thursday, August 3, 2023
Clooney, Streep give $1M to help actors during Hollywood strike
George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Seth MacFarlane and Arnold Schwarzenegger are just a few of the celebrities who have contributed $1 million or more to help fellow actors during the strike.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Seth MacFarlane are among the latest Hollywood stars who have contributed at least $1 million to help fellow actors during the strike.

The SAG-AFTRA Foundation has raised more than $15 million since the strike began for its Emergency Financial Assistance Program, which helps actors survive the loss of income during the work stoppage.

Some of Hollywood's biggest names have donated at least $1 million to help striking actors:

George and Amal Clooney. Luciana and Matt Damon. Leonardo DiCaprio. Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness. Nicole Kidman. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. Julia Roberts. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Meryl Streep. Oprah Winfrey.

Dwayne Johnson recently made a seven-figure donation that was described as the largest contribution by a single person, but the exact amount was not disclosed.

"It warms our hearts because it means they all remember what it was like to be struggling," said actor Jason George, who appears on "Station 19" and is a board member of the SAG-AFRA Foundation.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has donated the largest single amount a person has ever given to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation as actors continue to hit the picket lines.

Another organization helping those on strike is the Entertainment Community Fund. That group just announced a $1 million donation from Seth MacFarlane.

It has raised more than $6 million from 7,500 donors since May 1, including contributions from Steven Spielberg, Shonda Rhimes and Michelle Pfeiffer, among others.

Actor Courtney B. Vance, who heads the SAF-AFTRA Foundation, said the fund received 400 applications for help just last week. The group credited Clooney and Streep in particular for not only making the donations but working to recruit others to contribute.

"I remember my days as a waiter, cleaner, typist, even my time on the unemployment line," Streep said in a statement released through SAG-AFTRA. "In this strike action, I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath. We will stand strong together against these powerful corporations who are bent on taking the humanity, the human dignity, even the human out of our profession. I am proudest of my fellow actors who have immediately offered to fund the Emergency Financial Assistance Program."

In the meantime, the Hollywood writers union, which is also on strike, plans to resume talks with producers for the first time in months.

The Writers Guild of America told its striking members the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studios, has requested a meeting on Friday to discuss negotiations.

The Writers Guild of America told its members recently that it plans to meet with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Friday to discuss the resumption of contract talks.

The WGA has been on strike since May 2 and the actors went on strike July 14.