Movie stars earn millions, but many working actors struggle to make ends meet – a problem brought to greater attention the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. While union members fight Hollywood studios for fair contractsone of the most famous performers in the world shares some of his happiness.
According to the report in Variety, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson provided “a seven-figure donation,“the exact amount has not been disclosed, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation (“a non-profit organization affiliated with but not part of the union”), which responded to a request sent to the union’s 2,700 highest-paid members to help offset the financial hardships caused by the strike. (The union has a total of 160,000 members, by industry, so you can see how unbalanced the scales are.)
“We rely on donations and grants to provide services,” the group’s executive director Cyd Wilson told Variety, adding that the group has also reached out to its most financially sound members for help during the pandemic. “But when we get into a crisis like this and we’re spending millions and millions of dollars on financial aid, that’s when we need our high-profile talent who can afford it, who are in a position to help others.”
Wilson added: “It’s the largest single donation we’ve ever received from one individual at one time. And what’s amazing is that this one check will help thousands of actors keep food on the table, protect their children, and keep their cars running. And it’s not clear to me that he’s very modest about it, but it’s a way to get us started.”
Get out Variety read the full interview with Wilson and SAG-AFTRA Foundation President Courtney B. Vance — and here’s hoping more advanced actors help others in their field.
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