When Dominic Turiczek and Cassidy Carter first took WGA buttons being handed out outside of “The Drew Barrymore Show” in New York,they didn’t even know there was a strike going on, let alone two. They were simply excited about the free tickets they had won to see Barrymore. But minutes after entering CBS Broadcast Studios, they were pulled out of the building.
“Some security guy came and pulled us off to the side,” Turiczek told TheWrap. “He was like, ‘You’re out. I already talked to people above me, and I see that on your shirt. I’m part of the show, you’re out, no questions asked.’”
Turiczek offered to take off his button. By that point, Carter had already taken hers off and the two were Googling about the strike ahead of being seated. But the offer didn’t matter.
“He was like, ‘No, you’re out. Get out, go.’ And he started pushing us towards the door,” Turiczek said. Both Turiczek and Carter described the crew member as “aggressive,” and Turiczek noted the man was “yelling at us.”
Shortly after the incident, the two decided to “take a T-shirt” from the WGA and joined the picket lines themselves. Both now believe this choice will lead to them being permanently banned from the show rather than being kicked out for the day. But after what they experienced, it’s unclear if that’s much of a loss for them.
“It is our policy to welcome everyone to our show tapings,” a spokesperson for “The Drew Barrymore Show” told TheWrap. “Due to heightened security concerns today, we regret that two audience members were not permitted to attend or were not allowed access. Drew was completely unaware of the incident and we are in the process of reaching out to the affected audience members to offer them new tickets.”
Early in the strike, Barrymore was seen as an advocate for her writers and the union when she dropped out of hosting the MTV Movie and TV Awards. But public sentiment around her has quickly shifted with her decision to return to production in the midst of the ongoing WGA strike. Though none of Barrymore’s writers will be returning to work on the series, the strike-covered show is set to premiere new episodes a week from now, Sept. 18. Monday marked the first day of protesting against the daytime talk series with three picket lines surrounding New York’s CBS Broadcast Studios.
“It’s just very disheartening to see that ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ does not care about the strike at all. They do not support their writers. Clearly they don’t support their fans, but it is not about the fans. It is about the writers and everyone else who is strike,” Turiczek said. “It’s sad.”
The incident has also impacted Turiczek and Carter’s opinion of Barrymore. Turiczek has more “The Drew Barrymore Show” tickets for the 20th, and Carter was excited to see it at a later date with her mom. Now their feelings around Barrymore have shifted.
“The statement she put out … was so disheartening and so disrespectful to the writers,” Carter said. “I wouldn’t have expected that from Drew, out of anyone,” Carter said.
“You can tell after reading the statement and seeing how her crew handles things on her set, they truly don’t care,” Turiczek added.
