Fran Drescher slams Disney boss Bob Iger for his ‘tone-deaf’ portrayal of flashy actors

Actress Fran Drescher has slammed Disney CEO Bob Iger by speaking her mind SAG-AFTRA actors strike “Deaf” and “disgusting” after saying Hollywood actors and writers are not being “realistic” in their expectations.

The president of SAG-AFTRA and the former “The Nanny” star responded to Iger’s comments in a Variety interview on Friday, comparing them to a “land baron from a medieval era” and arguing that the 72-year-old should be Closed.

“I found him terribly disgusting and out of touch, and positively tone-deaf,” Drescher said.

“If I were this company, I would lock him behind doors and never let him talk to anyone about it.”

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which represents about 160,000 actors and entertainers, announced early Thursday morning that negotiations between the studios had ended without an agreement.

Union leadership officially voted in favor of a strike starting at midnight that day after their demands for higher wages and protections against artificial intelligence were not met.

The SAG-AFTRA president and former ‘The Nanny’ star responded to Iger’s comments by comparing him to a “land baron from a medieval era” and arguing that he should be locked up.

Disney CEO Bob Iger on Thursday criticized actors threatening to strike, saying they are “not being realistic” and are “disruptive” to the industry.

Iger hit the actors who are threatening to go on strike, saying they are “not being realistic” and are being “disruptive” to the sector.

The Disney CEO, whose $27 million contract was extended yesterday through 2026, discussed the strike with CNBC’s David Faber on the network’s Squawk Box.

“It’s very disturbing to me,” he said, claiming that actors like Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence are “not realistic” about the compensation benefits they’re asking for.

“This is the worst time in the world to add this disruption,” Iger said.

In response to Iger’s comments, Drescher said, “It’s so obvious that he has no idea what’s really going on on the ground with hardworking people who aren’t making anywhere near the pay they’re making.”

“High seven figures, eight figures, that’s crazy money they’re making, and they don’t care if they’re medieval-era land barons,” he continued.

Drescher blasted billionaire studio executives for their six-figure salaries in a fiery speech to fellow union members.

The 65-year-old called corporations like Netflix, Disney and Paramount “disgusting” for “losing money left and right” while “giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs”.

Drescher described his fellow actors as “victims” of the “greedy” streaming giants.

“The eyes of the world and, in particular, the eyes of the worker are upon us,” he said, opening his impassioned speech.

What happens here is important because what is happening to us happens in all areas of work.”

Fran Drescher is president of The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which represents approximately 160,000 actors and entertainers.

“By when business owners make Wall Street and greed their priority and forget about the essential contributors that make the machine work,” he said.

“We have a problem and we’re living it right now, this is a very important hour for us,” Drescher added. ‘Here we are the victims. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity.

“I’m shocked at the way we’ve been treated by the people we’ve worked with. I can’t believe it, frankly…how they’re telling the poor that they’re losing money left and right, when they’re giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their general managers”.

“It’s disgusting, shame on them,” he added. “Right now they are on the wrong side of history. We stand together in unprecedented unity.’

At the end of his six-minute rant, Drescher directly appealed to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) by name, telling them, “The staff is done.”

“You have to wake up and smell the coffee,” he warned them.

“We are hard workers and we stand tall and demand respect and to be honored for our contribution. You share the wealth because you cannot exist without us.

His speech comes after Disney chief Bob Iger on Thursday criticized actors threatening to strike, saying they are “not being realistic” with their demands.

Meanwhile, Hollywood executives pocketed more than $1.4 billion in 2021, up a staggering 50 percent from 2018.

Iger was one of only two of the top 10 earners on the list to make more in 2018 than he did during the height of the pandemic in 2021, making $65 million and $45 million, respectively.

The strike will be the first time film and television actors have taken industrial action since 1980, and the first time two major Hollywood unions have gone on strike at the same time since 1960.

The last time actors and writers united against Hollywood executives was in 1960, when Marilyn Monroe was at the height of her powers and Ronald Reagan was the head of the actors’ union.

Under the rules of a strike, SAG-AFTRA members would not be able to film any movies or TV series, participate in any press or movie premieres or promote anything at this month’s San Diego Comic-Con .

It will affect sequels to Disney’s Avatar and The Lion King, as well as shows that were scheduled to return to television in the fall, such as The Simpsons.

SAG-AFTRA demanded higher wages to counter inflation and guarantees for their future livelihoods.

In addition to salaries when they’re actively working, actors earn so-called “residual” payments every time a movie or show they starred in airs on network or cable, which is especially useful when performers are between projects

But streamers like Netflix and Disney+ don’t disclose viewing figures for their shows and offer the same flat rate for everything on their platforms, regardless of popularity.

In a statement after the strike was announced, the Association of Film and Television Producers said it was disappointed by the breakdown in negotiations.

‘This is the choice of the Union, not ours. In doing so, he has discarded our offer of historic salary and residual increases, substantially higher limits on pension and health contributions, hearing protections, shortened series option periods, an innovative AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses and more,” the group said in a statement.

He said he had agreed “the highest percentage increase in minimums in 35 years, a “substantial increase” in pension and health contribution limits and an 11 percent increase in one year for fund players, stand-ins and photo doubles and an additional 17. percent increase for background actors required for extensive self-styling.

Those who must deliver lines during a tour and stunt doubles who must memorize and deliver lines on camera would get an additional 62 percent raise under the proposal.

But Drescher said the two sides remain “far apart” on “so many things,” citing excessive payments to top executives as studies “advocating poverty.”