While struggling industries attempt to get “back to normal,” rising COVID cases, the Delta variant, and the continuous conflict over these two things, prove we still have a long way to go before we’re back to anything even resembling “normal.” Until then, industry changes are necessary, and fortunately for actors, a big name is leading the charge for better working conditions in the film industry.
In a video promoting her ongoing campaign to join the SAG-AFTRA Board, actress Sharon Stone revealed her role in an upcoming television show is currently in jeopardy due to her demands for a fully vaccinated workplace prior to filming. According to Stone, the Producers Guild of America’s refusal to mandate the Atlanta cast and crew be vaccinated is forcing her to avoid the set and its unsafe working conditions:
“I’ve been offered a job — a good job, a job I really want to do in Atlanta. That’s why my hair is standing on end … because the Producers Guild of America will not guarantee that everyone on our show is vaccinated before I go to work. Will I go to work before everyone on my show is vaccinated? No. No, I won’t. Am I being threatened that I will lose my job? Yes. Yes I am. Will I lose my job if everyone is not vaccinated on my show? Yes. Yes I could. Will I stand up for all of us so that every set that we go on is vaccinated? Yes. Yes, I will. Why? Because that’s ridiculous … that we should have to go to work where we are not safe to work.”
Stone went on to say the lack of intervention reflects the current SAG Board’s interests and lack of safety concerns, before encouraging actors to refuse to work on unsafe sets as well and support her addition to the SAG-AFTRA Board.
In addition to Stone, both Sean Penn and Netflix are two of the most vocal proponents of fully-vaccinated sets. Penn made news a week ago when he stated he would not return to work on his current project, Gaslit, until the rest of cast was fully vaccinated, and even offered to organize the event. Earlier this week, Netflix became the first major studio to mandate vaccinations for all cast and crew, and is leading the charge for other studios to join them. Here’s hoping more studios take the plunge so more movies and television shows — including Stone’s — can be made quickly and, most importantly, safely.