Fashion Police’ Writers Go On Strike

A total of 12 writers on the E! reality series Fashion Police had filed complaints with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement earlier this month seeking payment for unpaid regular and overtime hours totaling $1.5 million. Now the WGA has sent out a letter to members saying the staff is officially on strike against the network and the show’s producer, Joan Rivers’Rugby Productions, which jointly employ the writers. The aim is to make Fashion Police a guild show. “This is very simple,” Fashion Police writer Ned Rice said in a statement announcing the action. “We have earned the right to be a Guild show, we deserve to be a Guild show, and we want to be a Guild show. The ball is clearly in E! and Rugby’s court right now and we’re ready to go back to work on Fashion Police just as soon as they sign a WGA contract.” The WGA West and WGA East are saying members of both guilds are “prohibited from writing for the show under Working Rule 8, which prohibits members from working for non-signatory companies. The guilds also urged non-members not to take jobs on the show while the work stoppage is underway.” Here’s the guilds’ letter:

Dear WGAW and WGAE members,

Writers on E! Network’s comedy-variety show, Fashion Police, walked off their jobs today to gain Writers Guild coverage and to protest the company’s unfair labor practices. Their strike is recognized and supported by the WGAW and the WGAE. As per Working Rule 8, Guild members are prohibited from writing for the show.

Although Fashion Police is one of E!’s highest-rated shows, its writers lack health and pension benefits, residuals, and industry-standard compensation. When the writers began to organize earlier this year they were met with threats and delaying tactics.

The writers notified the company they are finished writing until they are covered by a Guild agreement and compensated appropriately. There are two possible endings to this conflict. Either E! will agree to cover the writers under a Guild contract, or it will no longer benefit from the writing talents of the current staff of Guild members.

Please support the Fashion Police writers and spread the word to non-members who might be approached to write for the show. If the stand-up and comedy-variety writing communities support this strike, the show cannot go on, at least with its current format and quality. Strongly encourage non-members to respect the strike and support these writers, who are taking a stand against substandard wages and conditions. Any non-Guild writer who chooses to undercut this strike by taking a striker’s job could jeopardize future Writers Guild membership.

The Fashion Police writers are united, strong, and determined. We stand with them.

In solidarity,

Chris, Howard, Carl, David

Michael, Jeremy, Bob, Lowell