Since the SAG-AFTRA strike started in July, many multi-hyphenate celebrities have been finding work-arounds to do interviews and promotion. Take, for example, Selena Gomez. Selena is an actress, beauty company founder and singer – she can promote her music and makeup whenever she wants, but she’s strictly prohibited from promoting anything as an actress, per SAG-AFTRA guidelines. The prohibition on promotion includes social media. Well, Selena has been posting stuff on her social media about music, makeup and her life, but this week, she also posted something on Instagram about Only Murders in the Building, her show which is currently airing on Hulu. She ended up deleting it after people called her a scab!
An Instagram post that tagged her Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building” was pulled from Selena Gomez’s profile after she was accused by many followers of breaking SAG-AFTRA strike rules. The post appeared to be a video from the set of the comedy show. Gomez tagged the official Instagram account for “Only Murders in the Building” in the caption for the video and added: “Missing and wanting.” The post generated over 1.1 million likes in 15 hours before it was pulled from Gomez’s profile.
Variety has reached out to Gomez’s representative. SAG-AFTRA declined to comment on the matter.
SAG-AFTRA’s strike rules prohibit members from promoting their work via press interviews or social media posts while the strike persists. Gomez did not speak in the set video nor did she encourage followers to watch the show in the caption, but she did tag the official “Only Murders in the Building” account. The tag led followers to assume the video was from the set of the Hulu series. Whether that constitutes a rule break was being debated. Many of Gomez’s followers accused her of scabbing, with one follower calling the post “tone deaf” amid the strikes.
Given the strike, Gomez and her co-stars have not given any interviews about Season 3 episodes. New episodes premiere each Tuesday on Hulu.
Gomez recently made headlines for returning to her music career with the release of her new song “Single Soon,” which dropped Aug. 25. The track is a standalone single and is not attached to any album at this point. Gomez is able to freely promote her music as that does not interfere with SAG-AFTRA strike rules.
Was the post promotion? Sure, I think so. Even if it’s debatable, it’s best to err on the side of caution. I wonder what preceded Selena’s deletion – as in, I wonder if some SAG official called her and spoke to her. From what we’re seeing in the trade papers and on social media, SAG-AFTRA’s leaders are being extremely active and responsive when it comes to herding their wayward members back into the flock. Sarah Silverman questioned the strike waivers and they had her on the phone with Fran Drescher within 24 hours. Stephen Amell scabbed and questioned the strike and they had him holding a sign at a New York strike inside a few weeks. I’m just saying, I bet Selena got a call from Fran or someone high-up.
why is selena gomez promoting her show during a strike? She’s soooo selfish pic.twitter.com/MdKgiMhp6d
— JONETI (@jarianaoutdid) August 30, 2023
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and Instagram.
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- LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 27: (L-R) Martin Short, Selena Gomez and Steve Martin attend the Los Angeles premiere of “Only Murders In The Building” Season 2 at DGA Theater Complex on June 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.,Image: 703488723, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, Credit line: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon
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- HOLLYWOOD, CA – NOVEMBER 02: Selena Gomez attends the “Selena Gomez: My Mind And Me” Opening Night World Premiere during 2022 AFI Fest at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 02, 2022 in Hollywood, California.,Image: 735067874, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Selena Gomez, Credit line: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon
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- New York city, NY – Selena Gomez, Martin Short, and Steve Martin promote ‘Only Murders in the Building’ at The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in New York City. Pictured: Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, Martin Short BACKGRID USA 7 SEPTEMBER 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Steve Martin pose for photos in front of men in tie-dye hoodies and projections of their new show ‘Only Murderers in the Building’ in New York City Pictured: Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, Martin Short BACKGRID USA 7 SEPTEMBER 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
This could’ve been an honest slip. She wasn’t saying “Tune in on X date on Hulu” or whatever. Feels like people are being too hard on her. Though I agree with the decision to delete the post to respect the strike.
Maybe the best way for us to support the strike is to stop watching TV, unsubscribe from all the streaming services, and quit going to the movies. Period. Money talks.
@ TeamMeg
That’s is something the SAG-AFTRA said they didn’t want people to do.
This was not an honest slip. She had this post up for 15 hours, and many comments were calling her out on why this was inappropriate. (Not that she would have posted it unintentionally to begin with, being a career actress.) Before she deleted it, she put up another vague post after about speaking up even if you are scared.
This is Selena Gomez modus operandi…do something selfish or mean, post vaguely about it for a while, then go quiet as most of the mainstream defends her. Uh uh. Fortunately people are catching on in other celeb gossip forums.
So true. Coming from Selena I’m more likely to believe she did knowingly, probably even seeking drama intentionally. But knowing the timeline of how everything went down makes it crystal clear that she posted about it, ignored people telling her to take it down, tried to make it seem like she was being attacked, then quietly deleted. Expecting to see her on the picket line tomorrow.
I believe that is was a mistake. Selena is very, very wealthy and while she may support her fellow actors, I assume that the strike isn’t at the forfront of her mind. Let’s DO talk about how Brad Pitt is filming a whole movie while his fellow actors on on the picket lines fighting for their LIVES.
Mostly, I just hope it’s actually Fran calling these people and giving them a talking to. Imagine being chastised by the nanny. She really needs to call Brad Pitt though. I can see him avoiding his calls, the little weasel. So I’m thinking someone from SAG needs to do a site check.
She’s dumb. This could affect her career.
Don’t think it was intentional.
I am all for calling people out who do mean-spirited or selfish things, but I also thing society is very harsh on people who don’t mean something badly.
I agree. I think some people online love to jump on her throat because she can be a little questionable sometimes. It’s not blatant promotion and I can see her forgetting that it counts/a scheduled post or something. She did post pro strike content on her stories like a week ago, I would chalk this up to her ignorance rather than her view on the strike.
Yeah, giving people the benefit of the doubt about this kind of thing is fair. Mistakes happen.
Someone pointed out above that she had the post up for 15 hours. She got lots of comments asking her to take it down or to be more mindful of the strike, and she responded by posting a second instagram saying “Speak Up Even When Your Voice Shakes.” She knew.
Yeah. I think some of the issue for the unions is that they are dealing with a lot of people who have gotten where they are by not following the rules. See the earlier post about Issa Rae’s advice to young people! So there really does have to be some knocking of heads, which I’m guessing happened here.
Look for Selena on a picket line soon! Now wondering if there will be a Disney kids reunion picket one of these days? That would break the internet.