Drew Barrymore dropped as National Book Awards host after her talk show resumes during strike
Drew Barrymore's recent decision to resume her talk show amid the ongoing writers strike has the literary world talking.
The National Book Foundation revealed in an X post Tuesday that Barrymore – who was previously tapped to emcee the 74th annual National Book Awards – has been dropped as host following her announcement that production on "The Drew Barrymore Show" will resume.
"The National Book Awards is an evening dedicated to celebrating the power of literature and the incomparable contributions of writers to our culture," the foundation wrote. "In light of the announcement that ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ will resume production, the National Book Foundation has rescinded Ms. Barrymore’s invitation to host the 74th National Book Awards Ceremony."
The National Book Foundation did not share if a replacement for Barrymore had been chosen.
"Our commitment is to ensure that the focus of the Awards remains on celebrating writers and books, and we are grateful to Ms. Barrymore and her team for their understanding in this situation," the foundation concluded.
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USA TODAY has reached out to Barrymore's representative for comment.
The resumption of the CBS talk show doesn't inherently cause issues with the actors guild, which is also on strike, as daytime talk shows are governed by a different Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists contract that was renewed and ratified last year. But Barrymore's show employs at least three writers who are members of the writers guild, which has been on strike since early May. Those writers were picketing outside the CBS Broadcast Building on Monday.
"The only people I know for sure that are not going back are us three WGA writers. And the rest, I can’t really speak for," Chelsea White, one of the show's writers, said on the picket line. "I think first and foremost, this is obviously way bigger than just ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ and writers. We are out here standing with our union and feeling great and excited always to stand with our union."
Barrymore announced the return of her talk show on Sunday, telling fans in a lengthy statement on Instagram that she is "making the choice to come back for the first time in this strike for our show, that may have my name on it but this is bigger than just me."
"I own this choice. We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind," Barrymore wrote at the time.
"The Drew Barrymore Show" wrapped filming Season 3 in April for a summer hiatus. Upon return to film Season 4, a CBS Media Ventures spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement shared Monday that the show will "not be performing any writing work covered by the WGA strike."
The Writers Guild of America, the union representing most of Hollywood's scribes behind your favorite TV shows and films, went on strike at the beginning of May for issues related to fair compensation, pension plans and health insurance. The WGA added "The Drew Barrymore Show" to its East Coast picketing locations for Monday and Tuesday.
Barrymore acknowledged that some people may feel conflicted because she stepped down as the host of the MTV Movie & TV Awards in solidarity with writers, but is returning to her show.
"I was the host, and it had a direct conflict with what the strike was dealing with which was studios, streamers, film, and television. It was also in the first week of the strike and so I did what I thought was the appropriate thing at the time to stand in solidarity with the writers," the actress said.
Barrymore was originally named host of the 74th annual National Book Awards, the unofficial "Oscars" of the publishing world, in July alongside Oprah Winfrey, who was announced as a guest speaker for the ceremony. The awards show is scheduled for Nov. 15, in Manhattan, with competitive prizes to be handed out in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, literature in translation and young people's literature.
Drew Barrymore:Actress's talk show to return amid strike; WGA plans to picket outside studio
Background:Drew Barrymore to host 74th National Book Awards with Oprah Winfrey as special guest
Contributing: Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY; John Carucci, Ryan Pearson, The Associated Press