Priyanka Chopra supports SAF-AFTRA strike, Swara Bhasker points out at actors' varied political freedom

Priyanka Chopra extended support to the SAF-AFTRA strike on social media while Swara Bhasker highlighted how actors abroad are unencumbered by political consequences.

Los Angeles: Global icon Priyanka Chopra, on Friday night, extended her support to the ongoing SAG AFTRA strike. Priyanka expressed solidarity with SAF-AFTRA strike amid reports of her upcoming film Heads Of State hitting a roadblock due to the ongoing turmoil in Hollywood. Meanwhile, weighing in on Hollywood stars extending support for SAF-AFTRA strike, Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker pointed out how actors are not punished for their political stance in certain parts of the world.

Taking to Instagram, Priyanka shared a post which she captioned, “I stand with my union and colleagues. In solidarity, we build a better tomorrow.” Earlier, several reports also stated that the filming for her upcoming project, Heads Of State would also be halted or postponed due to the strike. Soon after Priyanka shared the post, her fans and friends swamped down the comment section and showered praises. “More power to you Queen,” a fan commented. Another fan wrote, “well done peecee.”

Interestingly, Swara Bhasker on Friday shared a media report regarding Hollywood actors extending support to SAG AFTRA strike on her Instagram Stories. Sharing the report, Swara made a point that how actors face no repercussions for political activism abroad. "Somewhere in the world actors are not penalised for being 'political,'" wrote Bhasker, who often voices her opinions on socio-political issues and faces the wrath of social media for the same.

According to reports, SAG-AFTRA declared its strike against the film and television industries on Thursday, marking only the second time in Hollywood history that actors have joined writers on the picket lines. According to the guidelines, SAG-AFTRA members will not be able to attend premieres, do interviews for completed work, go to awards shows, attend film festivals or even promote projects on social media while the strike is in effect.

“We are being victimised by a very greedy enterprise,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said during Thursday’s press conference. “At some point you have to say ‘No, we’re not going to take this anymore. You people are crazy. What are you doing? Why are you doing this?’”

More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began the strike in May, claiming they aren't paid fairly in the streaming era."Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal ... the studios' responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing," said a statement from the union leadership. (With agency inputs)

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