Several days ago, there was a groundbreaking ceremony for Project Angel Food’s Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Campus. Jamie Lee Curtis was there and she spoke to various media outlets covering the event. The fact that she gave some interviews is not in violation of the SAG-AFTRA strike – this was not a premiere nor was it promotion for struck work. However, JLC was asked about the actors’ strike and her response was… not great. It was awful, actually:
“I hope I can be Switzerland in all this and say that I hope both sides see the value in continuing conversations… the issues are real and my hope is that no one will be happy with a settlement, but we will get back to work… I’m more Switzerland. I’m not a polarized person here. I don’t like the rhetoric on both sides… Any settlement means nobody’s happy. So there will be a settlement and not everyone will be happy. I don’t like the them vs. us. The fact that there’s a them and an us bothers me. It’s one industry and I hope that all of the sides can recognize the oneness of our industry, and that we are interdependent, and that AI is not interdependent, that human beings are and at the end of the day our interdependency with each other will prevail.”
[From Reuters & THR]
If that sounds repetitive, it’s because she said variations of the same thing to several different outlets, including Variety and Reuters. Those were her talking points, and whenever she was asked about the strike, she declared herself Switzerland, claimed that she doesn’t like the divisiveness of a strike and that she hopes that no one gets what they want. Instead of just owning that bullsh-t opinion, JLC backtracked in a hurry once people were like “WTF, you can’t vocally support your union??” She posted this on Instagram:
TO CLEAR UP ANY CONFUSION!🚨
On Thursday I attended a beautiful charity event celebrating the groundbreaking for the new campus of @projectangelfood and I was inevitably asked about the strike and I made a comment about wanting to be like Switzerland. All of a sudden the clearly desperate news cycle machine is all over me to clarify those comments.HERE THEY ARE!
I FULLY SUPPORT the @sagaftra strike, have volunteered making signs multiple times and have donated to the relief fund. I SUPPORT the leadership and SUPPORT our demands. I’m a rank-and-file union member. I am not on any negotiating committee. I believe we have to look at all sides in any conflict in order to find resolution, solution and a fair and equitable settlement. Can we end this now and not turn this into some ridiculous news cycle story AND GET BACK TO THE TABLE AND NEGOTIATE?
Again, the media didn’t make up anything, the media is not putting words in her mouth – she repeated the same sentiments to multiple outlets covering the groundbreaking, all with the same patronizing, know-it-all attitude that she alone is impartial on this issue. She was the one telling people that she’s Switzerland, she was the one who couldn’t muster up some enthusiastic support for her union.
WATCH: Jamie Lee Curtis said she is hopeful that both studios and striking Hollywood actors see the value of ‘continuing conversation’ to resolve their issues pic.twitter.com/OuFrzVyPTA
— Reuters Showbiz (@ReutersShowbiz) August 5, 2023
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.
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- Jamie Lee Curtis poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actress in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762337641, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: LCY / Avalon
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- Jamie Lee Curtis accepts the Oscar® for Actress in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762338300, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: SDS / Avalon
Her initial statements felt like an outtake from Zoolander.
Lol very true!
This is where her nepo-babiness is coming through.
I think this is sort of answer that a nepo baby would give as she never starved at any point due to her parentage, unlike many other actors who made huge sacrifices to get where they are. She totally doesn’t understand other actors’ points of view and that’s why she’s thinking to stay neutral on the topic, she always could afford to be like that.
AHAHAHA!
True.
And JLC is not just a nepo baby, she is an Hollywood Royalty…🙄
Jamie Jamie Jamie. This is not a good look saying you are Switzerland but yes they should get to the table and negotiate. Only problem is the ones you’re striking against don’t wish to come to the table to fairly negotiate. So giving them any fairness is wrong.
Ugh. She sounds like an idiot. Never thought I’d say that about her but…
Imo, she’s always been problematic. I mean, declaring yourself Switzerland when your union is fighting for you and less privileged members, then backtracking to make yourself sound like a victim who’s just misunderstood is very problematic. I’ve just been waiting for that Oscar to go to her head and it has.
She’s shady as hell and if she didn’t want to be divisive she would endorse President Biden and Vice President Harris instead of Marianne Whatsherface.
Ick and yuck I didn’t know that.
Um. Jamie Lee Curtis was part of Biden campaign. Maybe you have mistaken her political position for Susan Sarandon (she has already maxed out her political contribution to the current campaign for Marianne Williamson)
I don’t have her mistaken for anyone. You can use Google or even Bing to look it up and find that she had an Instagram post endording Marianne for President.
Marianne Williamson is actually a very smart lady but she’s about fifty years ahead of her time.
(And of course we do not need anyone to divide the democrat vote.)
At this point any “I agree with both sides” declaration is just a dog whistle. Ma’am, the industry heads were at Billionaire Summer Camp and both actors and writers are barely scrapping a living, these two are not the same.
Hell yes to this. There is the right side of the issue and then there is the streamers and studios.
I’m still annoyed she won that Oscar over literally anyone else in the category.
Saying she doesn’t like the rhetoric on both sides!!! Omg. Support your union. End of. These little comments create division and it’s exactly what AMPTP wants.
@Anna -I agree completely. The actors are striking (and suffering) because the STUDIOS refused to negotiate in good faith. That oneness bullshit is not just woo-woo, it’s dangerous rhetoric. The studios are okay with refusing to negotiate until the human actors are starving and homeless in order to use AI for their profits.
I’ll never be able to unknow this about her.
Why couldn’t she have told the press that she supported the strike in the first place?
The thing about Switzerland is that it can afford to be neutral only because mandatory military service, along with their National Redoubt plan, means that they’re ready to fight like hell and hold out a good long time if it comes to that. People who try to compare themselves to the Swiss are rarely so prepared, and are usually just looking for an easy out. That’s not how neutrality actually works.
Swiss banks also profited greatly from the art and monies stolen from Jewish families in WWII and secreted by Nazis in Swiss banks, and from monies paid to Switzerland by wealthy Jewish families in order to emigrate. Their neutral position was extremely self-serving, as is her position. She clearly doesn’t want to antagonize studio execs and she won’t be affected by the same sacrifices made by the writers or actors who aren’t financially secure like her.
Ugh. I’m so disappointed in her. Where’s her million dollar donation to SAG-AFTRA?
Yeah, there’s really no such thing as neutral in politics. It’s all about self interest.
Oh yes, it’s definitely rooted in self-interest for Switzerland! I should’ve put quotation marks around “neutral” in the first sentence, sorry I wasn’t clearer. I have a Swiss ex who would always tell people that what his country called “neutrality” could be more accurately described as insularity, and it wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Also: surrounded by mountains.
She’s saying what most of her peers are afraid to say out loud. Most of these rich, privileged celebs are horrible, self centered people IRL. Why would they strike for less privileged folks? They are only acting as allies in public because their PR teams told them to do so. It’s all about optics.
@Aly so you’re saying because they’re rich privileged and not very nice that they shouldn’t strike for those who are less privileged? Setting aside the fact that you’re woefully misinformed on that alone, why shouldn’t they use that privilege for good? Who cares if their PR teams are the ones telling them they should if it’s effective and results in a living wage for all actors and writers regardless of status?
LOL I never said they shouldn’t strike. I was merely pointing out the reasons why they won’t feel the need to strike. They got millions in their bank accounts, a lot of them are set for life and vacationing around Europe right now. Hopefully, their publicists will give them their activism reminders soon. Gotta take care of the optics, ya know.
I didn’t read that as saying the rich actors didn’t need to strike. But they live a comfortable life and don’t rely on the SAG AFTRA benefits to the same extent. Look at Brad Pitt and his sketchy behaviour around filming his movie. Inconvenience is not something the Uber rich like and this is why we get mealy mouth statements like what Jamie Lee said.
This is kind of not a surprise to me – she’s got that toxic positive energy thing goin on. You know the saying about choosing neutrality means choosing the side of the oppressor.
Maybe Jamie should have said nothing if she wants to be “Switzerland” .
To both sides this when one side is fighting for the rights for a living wage, to be treated fairly while the other is fighting for greed . Jamie sounds like the people that try to both sides the current political climate.
All of these famous white women are really showing their A$$ES these past few days. I am not a Jamie Lee fan because she is a giant hypocrite. And I’m glad people are finally seeing this.
This is such an own goal from JLC. Memorize the talking points from the union to say when asked and then point people to the Entertainment Foundation website to support striking actors.
SAG-AFTRA and it’s joint AMPAS members got the ball rolling on her Oscar win last year. Having her give asinine statements like this is what they deserve. I still really like JLC, but ever since that Armas comment, I’ve been content w/ rooting/enjoying her from afar.
Thanks, Jamie, for letting us see who you really are, and don’t stop now.
She is aaaaaalways doing this stuff, lmao. She did a great job leading a conversation around age, Hollywood, and body image, and she’s revered for being a queer ally, so at some point she was like “Great! I’ll say more!” Not every thought needs to be given voice and, when she *really* steps in it, most media don’t report on it — there is a protective, but increasingly fragile, halo of goodwill around her.
She’s become a RHOBH housewife – not a compliment.