On Monday, the WGA announced that members would not picket the 2023 Tony Awards, after ceremony organizers made changes “to meet specific requests” from the union.
In a statement late Monday, the WGA did not disclose the nature of those changes. But whatever they are, they came 3 days after the union on Friday denied CBS and Paramount+ an exemption that would allow the ceremony to be aired and broadcast. And indeed, the WGA specifically blamed CBS, Paramount “and their allies” for making the necessary changes.
“As previously reported, the Writers Guilds of America East and West (WGA) will not be negotiating an interim agreement or a waiver of the Tony Awards. However, Tony Awards Productions (a joint venture of the Broadway League and American Theater Wing) have let us know that they will modify this year’s show to meet specific WGA requests and therefore the WGA will not be picketing the venue. show. WGA said.
“The onus for having to make changes to the format of the 2023 Tony Awards falls squarely on the shoulders of Paramount/CBS and their allies. They continue to refuse to negotiate a fair contract for the writers represented by the WGA. As they have supported us, we stand with our co-workers on Broadway who are affected by our strike,” the statement concluded.
It is unclear if the ceremony will air, given the WGA statement. But the event is still scheduled for Sunday, June 6 at 8 pm ET, hosted by Ariana Debose. Representatives for the Tony Awards organization did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Early Monday, the Peabody Awards organization announced that the 2023 ceremony would be cancelled. While the group did not mention the strike directly, it cited “the position in which many of this year’s Peabody Award winners find themselves” and “the significant uncertainty and challenges that exist across the industry” as reasons.
It’s just the latest major industry event to be affected. Just over a week ago, the live 2023 MTV Movies & TV Awards ceremony was canceled after host Drew Barrymore walked out in support of the strike. MTV replaced it with a clip show that included pre-recorded segments. Last week, the Critics’ Choice Association postponed a planned celebration of LGBTQ+ movies and television that it had planned to hold earlier in the summer. And that’s on top of the myriad of TV shows and movie shoots that have halted production.
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