WGA and SAG-AFTRA both being on strike has been hell for everyone in Hollywood. The writers and actors just want to receive fair compensation for their work, which lines the pockets of the same higher-up executives who oppose granting that request. With both sides locked down, planned release dates for film and TV projects have been pushed, the future of both industries has grown more uncertain, and tens of thousands of people are out of work — including Snoop Dogg, apparently, who has canceled two of his forthcoming concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in solidarity with the strikes that are completely unrelated to what he does as a musician.
“We regret to inform you that due to the ongoing strike and the uncertainty of when this will be over, we need to cancel the Hollywood Bowl show,” the rapper shared in a statement via Instagram. “We continue to stand in solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters in the WGA and SAG/AFTRA during this difficult time and remain hopeful that the AMPTP will come back to the negotiating table with a REAL proposal and we can all get back to work.”
The shows, which were set to be produced by Dr. Dre in celebration of Doggystyle‘s 30th anniversary, were originally scheduled for June 27 and 28. In June, Snoop announced that they would be postponed to Oct. 20 and 21 while making the same point about standing in solidarity with the writers strike.“ We gotta move that date. Me and Dr. Dre, we stand in solidarity with the writers,” he said. “So make sure you get your tickets to stay on point and stay on deck.”
The performances, billed under Snoop Dogg & Friends, were announced the same day that the WGA strike began. That same week, Snoop supported their efforts during a conversation at the Milken Institute Global Conference.
“We need to figure that out the same way the writers are figuring out… The writers are striking because streaming, they can’t get paid,” he said at the time, likening the situation to the current state of music streaming payouts, or lack thereof. “Because, when it’s on the platform, it’s not like in the box office. In the box office, if it does all these numbers, you may get an up — ‘Oh, it did this many, here’s another check.’ But on streaming you got 300,000 hours that somebody watched your movie. Where’s the money?”
There is some overlap between the rapper as a musician and the striking writers and actors in the sense that everyone across the board wants their work to be valued, but the comparison really ends there. Snoop doesn’t really need to be on strike, too, in any literal sense, but solidarity is solidarity.