Why Everyone’s Mad at Drew Barrymore Right Now
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Read on to find out more about the situation, including what Barrymore is now saying in response to the backlash.
RELATED: Drew Barrymore Became a Legal Adult at 14—Here’s What Happened Next .
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/09/drew-show.png?strip=all&w=500" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Drew Barrymore hosting “The Drew Barrymore Show” in 2023 - 2”>
The Drew Barrymore Show / YouTube
The decision to begin filming Season 4 is the first time The Drew Barrymore Show has confronted whether to produce new episodes during the WGA strike. As reported by USA Today , Season 3 wrapped filming in April prior to the strike beginning on May 2.
On Sept. 6, CBS announced that the talk show would be returning on Sept. 18. The show is scheduled to begin filming new episodes today, Sept. 11. As reported by Vanity Fair , a CBS spokesperson said that the show “will not be performing any writing work covered by the WGA strike.”
The WGA strike began after the writers’ union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents major Hollywood studios, failed to come to an agreement. WGA members are looking for better pay, particularly when it comes to residuals from the projects they’ve worked on being shown on streaming services.
In response to the strike, several late night talk shows went off the air immediately . Some daytime talk shows have been able to continue as normal, as they do not employ WGA writers.
RELATED: 5 TV Episodes So Controversial They Sparked Protests .
The @DrewBarrymoreTV Show is a WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers. The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike. Any writing on “The Drew Barrymore Show” is in violation of WGA strike rules. — Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) September 10, 2023
In response to the news that The Drew Barrymore Show was beginning filming, the WGA announced plans to picket outside of the studio.
“The @DrewBarrymoreTV Show is a WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers,” the Writers Guild of America, East posted on X. “The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike. Any writing on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ is in violation of WGA strike rules.”
The WGA also posted the schedule for picketing the New York City-based show, starting today. The WGA has picketed outside of other shows continuing on without WGA writers during the strike, including The View and Jeopardy!
RELATED: Drew Barrymore Reveals How She Got Sober After “Numbing the Pain” of Her Divorce .
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The news that Barrymore’s show is returning during the strike comes after she previously voiced solidarity with the striking writers.
Two days after the strike began, Barrymore announced that she would no longer be hosting the MTV TV & Movie Awards, which aired May 7. (Many other celebrities also decided to not attend the show, and it ended up airing in a different format with pre-recorded acceptance speeches.)
“I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,” Barrymore said in a statement to Variety . “Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation. And until a solution is reached, I am choosing to wait but I’ll be watching from home and hope you will join me.”
The Charlie’s Angels star added that she was looking forward to hosting the awards show in 2024.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Drew Barrymore (@drewbarrymore)
In a statement posted on Instagram on Sept. 10, Barrymore said 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.”
She continued, “I own this choice. We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind … I want to be there to provide what writers do so well, which is a way to bring us together or help us make sense of the human experience. I hope for a resolve for everyone as soon as possible.”
In addition to the WGA strike, the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA has also been on strike since July 14. For a talk show like Barrymore’s, this means that actors appearing on the show cannot promote work that is tied to the AMPTP.
Ron Adar / Shutterstock
Also in her Instagram post, Barrymore commented on why she stepped down from the MTV Movie & TV Awards.
“I made a choice to walk away from the MTV, film and television awards because I was the host and it had a direct conflict with what the strike was dealing with which was studios, streamers, film, and television,” the actor and talk show host posted. “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.”
RELATED: 6 TV Shows That Will Keep Filming Even Amid the Actors’ Strike .
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/09/drew-show-2.png?strip=all&w=500" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Drew Barrymore hosting “The Drew Barrymore Show” - 5”>
The Drew Barrymore Show / YouTube
“You do not perform any kind of lifesaving essential work, it’s a TV show. You are making a choice to cross a picket line and this is so disappointing,” reads one comment.
Another commenter wrote, “You want to ‘provide what the writers do so well’…meaning you want to do their jobs, while they’re on strike?”
A similar comment reads, “‘I want to be there to provide what writers do so well’ is so disappointing when writers are currently unable to do what we ‘do so well.’”
“As a member of SAG/AFTRA I don’t agree with your decision. We should stand WITH our writers… you should be prepared,” one person wrote.
Another said they would be boycotting Barrymore’s show. “As a huge fan and just a ‘normal’ person I am shocked that you would do this,” they wrote. “I know you don’t care about one person but it appears there are a lot of us who will no longer be watching. Such a shame.”
Drew Barrymore Became a Legal Adult at 14—Here’s What Happened Next
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/drew-main.jpg?quality=82&strip=1&resize=640%2C360" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Drew Barrymore at the premiere of “Longtime Companion” circa 1990 - 6”>
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Drew Barrymore has been very open about how quickly she grew up—and that includes in the legal sense. The child star was legally emancipated from her parents when she was only 14 years old. She pursued this course of action after she had already lived in a mental health facility for a year and a half in order and received treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. By that time, Barrymore had already followed in the footsteps of her famous family members and become an actor known for roles in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , Firestarter , and Irreconcilable Differences .
The star had grown up mostly estranged from her father, John Drew Barrymore , and her relationship with her mother, Jaid Barrymore , was a complicated one in which Jaid treated her more like a friend than a child. Her mother did not establish appropriate boundaries for her, as Barrymore has explained.
So, after leaving the psychiatric facility, Barrymore decided to become emancipated and begin living life (and working) as an adult. Read on to find out more about the legal proceedings and what the now-48-year-old actor has shared about the experience.
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In her 2015 memoir, Wildflower , Barrymore explained what led to her decision to become emancipated.
“I had to part ways from my mother because we had driven our relationship into the ground,” she wrote ( via The Guardian ). “She had lost credibility as a mother by taking me to Studio 54 (so wrong, but so fun) instead of school. And I was out of control due to working since I was 11 months old and what that had done to my childhood, which made me grow up too fast. Work was a very positive thing in my life, and sadly it had been taken away, because my mother also put me in an institution because she felt helpless.”
In a May 2023 blog post, Barrymore opened up about her time at the institution and the state of mind she was in when she lived there. “I bonded with a lot of the kids, because like me, they did not know where to put their anger and they did not know how to live life anymore without the need to get high or self-destruct in some form and fashion,” she shared.
During a 2019 interview with Howard Stern (warning: strong language in the clip above), she said that she’s grateful for her time at the facility despite hating it at first, because she wasn’t used to boundaries. “It’s what I needed,” she explained. “I left there, like, the most humble person you could ever imagine. They saved my life.”
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/drew.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=500" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Drew Barrymore at the premiere of “Longtime Companion” circa 1990 - 7”>
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In her book, Barrymore said that when she turned 14 she “wanted to start [her] life over” and “to do things on [her] own terms.” She also explained that Jaid supported the idea when she requested to be emancipated and was present at the court hearing.
“At the end of the day, the judge looked at me and said these words, which stuck with me: ‘I can turn the clock forward, but I can never turn it back. Are you ready for that?’” She said yes and the judge said, “I hereby pronounce you an adult.”
Barrymore wrote, “I walked out an 18-year‑old in the eyes of the state of California. This was gonna be fun.”
Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
But it wasn’t all good times being an adult so soon. Barrymore lived in a rundown apartment in Los Angeles, worked a job at a café that she wasn’t good at, and didn’t know how to do household chores, like laundry. As she tried to get her life together, she also lived for two months with musician David Crosby (her one-time sponsor) and his wife, Jan Dance , as she shared in the Stern interview.
Barrymore had two movies that were released in 1989— See You in the Morning and Far from Home —but wasn’t acting when her emancipation was granted. In her book she wrote, “‘I know acting,’ I thought, ‘but that’s gone for now, and I don’t know if they will have me back.’ People thought I was crazy, even though I wasn’t; I just grew up too fast.”
She figured out life as an adult eventually. “Listening to the cats fighting in the alley, I looked out of my window and waited, as I did each morning, for the sun to come up to tell me everything was going to be OK,” she wrote. “And it was.”
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/drew-1991.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=500" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Drew Barrymore at the premiere of “Sleeping with the Enemy” in 1991 - 9”>
Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
On the other hand, emancipated minors—at least today—still are required to attend school, still need a parent’s permission to marry, and are not exempt from laws such as needing to be 18 to vote and 21 to buy or drink alcohol. Barrymore wrote in her book that she dropped out of school when she was emancipated.
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/drew-1993.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=500" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Drew Barrymore at the premiere of “Sliver” in 1993 - 10”>
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Looking back now, Barrymore still feels she made the right decision.
“When I got emancipated by the courts at 14 years old, the umbilical cord was severed, and I have not been the same since,” she wrote in her May 2023 blog post. “It was necessary for me to step away and start to become my own person. And at the age of 14, my own parent.”
But, she admitted that she “cannot give [herself] rave reviews,” because she “drank too much” and “partied and burned the candle at every end.”
“Nothing I judge,” she added. “It’s my history. I was just trying to figure out how to grow up and who I wanted to become.”
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Drew Barrymore (@drewbarrymore)
Naturally, going through everything she did has had an affect on the way that Barrymore mothers her two children, nine-year-old Frankie and 10-year-old Olive , who she shares with ex-husband Will Kopelman .
“Being a mother constantly triggers everything from my own childhood now,” she wrote in her blog. “I live in an often-petrified state of thinking about my past and wanting to have things different for them. I want them protected. I want them to grow up slowly. I want family around and traditions and rules and boundaries.”
She’s also in a healthier place with her own mother. “I will always support her,” Drew told People in December 2022. “I can’t turn my back on the person who gave me my life. I can’t do it. It would hurt me so much. I would find it so cruel. But there are times where I’ve realized that our chemistry and behavior will drum up a feeling in me where I have to say, ‘Okay, I need a break again.’”
