Tyler Perry Says “It’s Important To Know What We Have Won For Now” Amid Ongoing SAG-AFTRA Strike: “This Is Only A Three-Year Deal…We’ll Be Renegotiating Again”

Denise Petski

November 7, 2023 at 5:55 p.m.·2 min read

Tyler Perry is speaking out on the SAG-AFTRA strike, now in its 117th day, as it appears a possible deal is getting much closer.

In an interview on CBS Mornings, Perry noted that he shut down his Tyler Perry Studios in support of the guild and has held fundraisers and food drives at the site, but added that it has been “debilitating” not to work for so long.

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Perry praised SAG-AFTRA lead negotiators Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, “but it’s really important to know when we’ve won. This is only a three-year deal. In two years, two-and-a-half years, we’ll be renegotiating again,” Perry said. “So we have to know what have we won, and what have we won for now? That’s the thing. For now. … If I had ran my business trying to get everything at once, I wouldn’t be here. I’ve got as much as I can for now, so let’s see what we can do next.”

As we reported earlier, lead SAG-AFTRA negotiators and the studios are set to meet later today in what could be the final phase to sealing a new deal after having achieved a breakthrough late last night on the contentious topic of AI. “We are very close,” a guild source told Deadline. “Not done yet, but very close with strong protection language in place,” the source added of AI guardrails long sought by the guild even before they went on strike in mid-July.

The bitter and costly strike has shut Hollywood down, cost the California economy $67.5 billion and seen the disappearance of 45,000 entertainment jobs.

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