Liz Hurley Shunned for Crossing Picket Line
Oct. 10 -- Sometimes, saying you’re sorry just doesn’t cut it.
Model-actress Elizabeth Hurley, who appears in the upcoming comedy Bedazzled, may never work in Hollywood again. The actress may be expelled from the Screen Actors Guild for crossing picket lines to film an ad for Estée Lauder, the cosmetics company she represents, according to the New York Post.
‘Very Supportive of Her Union’Hurley, 35, has apologized profusely for shooting a non-union commercial in New York City during the five-month-long TV commercial actors’ strike. “She was completely unaware of the situation because she doesn’t live in this country,” Hurley agent Tracey Jacobs explained to The Associated Press in July. “And she is extremely apologetic about it. Had she known it was struck work, she would have never done it. She is very supportive of her union.”
Union reps tell the Post that Hurley will probably be ejected, or at least heavily fined, despite her claims of ignorance. Even if she’s not booted, some of her peers may still burn her for betraying SAG. At a New York rally Friday, outspoken actor Tim Robbins shouted, “We’re bringing [Hurley] to trial after this is over. She won’t get away with it.”
Actors have been striking since May 1 in order to force cable advertisers to pay residuals to actors in commercials, rather than utilizing a flat-rate pay scale.
“This is a strike about working-class actors; this is not a strike about celebrity actors,” Robbins added. He said the average annual earnings of actors who appeared in commercials was a paltry $5,000.
Talks between advertising officials and SAG and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists will resume Oct. 19 in New York.
Reuters contributed to this story.
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