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SAG-AFTRA has produced three advocacy videos putting a spotlight on the challenges disabled actors face in pursuing and auditioning for jobs in the entertainment industry. The videos were produced as part of the union’s “Inclusion: Time to Get Real” campaign launched in connection with National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

The goal is to demonstrate how people with disabilities are underrepresented in TV and film, and when they are on screen, they are often misrepresented. In 2022, people with disabilities accounted for 8.8% of screen time, but those with visible disabilities made up only 0.4%, according to a Nielsen study.

“People with disabilities are America’s largest minority, representing nearly 26 percent of the nation’s population. Yet disabled performers are not afforded equal opportunities in entertainment and media and remain among the least represented in the industry,” said Christine Bruno, chair of the National Performers with Disabilities Committee, which steered the campaign.

“National...

Ezra Knight has been reelected president of SAG-AFTRA’s New York Local in a landslide victory that also gave his running mates a clean sweep of the election. Knight received nearly 73% of the votes cast in a four-person race for president. His four vice presidential running mates – Linda Powell, Anthony Rapp, Jim Kerr and Liz Zazzi – were also elected.

Knight is the leader of the local’s ruling Usan party that endorsed the unity slate led by SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and Secretary-Treasurer Joely Fisher, who also won landslide victories last night.

Knight was also the top vote-getter in the NY local’s national board races, and here too his Usan running mates won every race, including Avis Boone, Christine Bruno, Samantha Mathis, Michael Gaston, Phoebe Jonas, Samantha Macivor and Jim Kerr.

Usan was formed by New York members of SAG and AFTRA who were dedicated to the merger and to “Uniting Screen Actors Nationwide.

On the New York picket lines, where WGA and SAG-AFTRA members have walked since May and July, respectively, actress, writer and director Anita Hollander is used to getting a specific look. The one-legged screen and stage actress is strong — thanks to a regular practice of Pilates — and in good physical health. But she’s also a grandmother dealing with additional stress to her hands as a result of the increased use of her crutches while on the line.

“As I’m walking the line, I know what that face is: ‘Well, if you can do it, I shouldn’t be complaining,'” the SAG-AFTRA member tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The thing is, nobody can really know what it actually feels like.”

Hollander is one among the 160,000 performer’s union members who have taken to the streets in L.A., New York and other U.S. cities after SAG-AFTRA announced that...

SAG-AFTRA’s upcoming election is taking shape, with the union’s ruling party – headed by presidential candidate Fran Drescher – today unveiling its full slate of candidates.

Yvette Nicole Brown is running for president of the Los Angeles local, and Ezra Knight is running for president of the union’s New York local – each as part of the ruling parties’ Unite for Strength and Usan slate. Brown, a national board member, is nominated for an Emmy for A Black Lady Sketch Show, and Knight, who co-starred for many years on Law & Order, is the New York local’s vice president and a national board member.

“I believe nothing in our union works unless we are all working together,” Brown said. “As L.A. president I will advocate for each and every member and lead with kindness and respect. It’s been a tough time for us as work here in...

The casting of performers with disabilities should be part of Hollywood’s ongoing efforts to be more inclusive, but it’s often not, even though the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 makes it just as illegal to discriminate against the disabled as it is any other protected group.

“Disability is consistently overlooked in the conversation about diversity and inclusion,” said Anita Hollander, national chair of SAG-AFTRA’s Performers with Disabilities Committee, who hosted the union’s panel Thursday on disability inclusion in Hollywood. The discussion was part of the guild’s Stop the Hate summit.

“There are just too few opportunities for performers with disabilities,” said Camryn Manheim, SAG-AFTRA’s national secretary-treasurer, in her opening remarks. “In fact, people with disabilities make up less than 3.5% of all onscreen characters. And when we do see characters with disabilities, they are often played by non-disabled actors. It’s a fact, the number...

On the heels of an Academy Awards ceremony that found South Korea breaking into the Oscars for the first time with the history-making “Parasite,” and at a critical moment for diversity in the entertainment community, the Center for Cultural Power wants to disrupt Hollywood inequality with a new initiative for artists of color. In partnership with the Time’s Up-inspired movement 5050×2020, the Oakland-based Center for Cultural Power has announced the first-ever The Disruptors Fellowship, a five-month program that will be awarded to 10 artists of color who identify as trans and/or non-binary, disabled, undocumented and/or formerly undocumented immigrants. Head to the fellowship’s website for information on how to apply here. The deadline to apply is March 13, 2020, and while the fellowship takes place in Los Angeles, non-la residents are welcome.

Unfolding beginning in May through August of this year, the fellowship will feature master classes, one-on-one coaching and feedback,...

Hey, "God Friended Me" fans. We've got some new spoiler scoops for you guys in this article. They are for next week's brand new episode 9 of this current second season. The lovely folks over at CBS recently served up a new press release that features a few teaser descriptions for episode 9. So, we will definitely be running those by you guys in this spoiler session right now. To get things started, the official title for episode 9 is called, "Prophet & Loss." It sounds like episode 9 will feature some very interesting, scandalous and possible dramatic scenes as Miles learns of a potential insider trading scheme! Miles gets in conflict with Cara and more! We'll go ahead and start off this spoiler session with the insider trading scheme situation. It turns out that Miles is going to get the name of Cara's stepfather at some point in this episode. His name is Paul,...

Unite for Strength, the ruling party of SAG-AFTRA, announced its slate of candidates today in the union’s upcoming elections.

Michelle Hurd, currently serving on the national board, will be running for president of the Los Angeles local; Clyde Kusatsu and Ellen Crawford will be running for vice president slots. Kusatsu is currently the national vice president from La, and Crawford is a national board member. As previously reported, Camryn Manheim will be running for national secretary-treasurer as president Gabrielle Carteris’ running mate.

Two candidates are challenging Carteris for president: Jane Austin, currently the guild’s national secretary-treasurer who’s running for president as an independent, and Matthew Modine, who is running at the top of the ticket for Membership First. His slate has yet to be announced.

In New York, Rebecca Damon, national executive vice president and New York president, is running for re-election as New York president.