- The actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, has strict strike rules barring social-media creators from supporting studios.
- As the actors’ strike goes on, some influencers are experiencing financial hardship.
- Jasmine Paige Moore, a TikTok creator, tells Insider about giving up content creation and returning to bartending during the strike.
This first-person as-told-to story is based on an August interview with Jasmine Paige Moore, a content creator with nearly 470,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 23,000 on Instagram. She spoke to Insider about her experience turning down lucrative brand deals and partnerships as the actors’ strike, which got underway in July, drags on. Insider verified Moore’s claims through screenshots of emails and conversations substantiating her experiences.
Within the first few days of the Hollywood actors’ strike, a friend of mine — a fellow content creator with a large following on TikTok — faced backlash from users online. It was over a video he’d made saying he’d follow SAG-AFTRA’s strike rules for creators like us but hoped to finish out contracts he’d signed with studios first. Many creators who work with Hollywood companies make money through brand deals, attending and posting about movie premieres, or partnering with makeup or fashion companies.
But this particular friend of mine faced painful accusations by strident voices online claiming he planned to continue making money from his relationships with studios, even as actors walked off of work in protest over issues like wages, residuals, and artificial intelligence.
This was in July, and it was unclear how we as creators were supposed to navigate the sudden new rules.
One thing that was clear was that if we violated them, SAG-AFTRA might permanently prevent us from joining the guild. People also began taking it upon themselves to police creators online, with accounts like @ScabsOfTikTok calling out those thought to be flouting the rules.
That’s when I saw it: one particular critic I didn’t recognize, calling my friend out more viciously than the rest. I decided to engage this person directly in the comments section of one of my friend’s posts. “We as content creators should be helping to educate each other, not tearing each other down,” I wrote.
“We? I am an artist,” she wrote me — creating a distinction between me and her. She then proceeded to lay into me and my friend, perpetuating this notion that he was turning his back on the strikers. The whole encounter was unpleasant, to say the least — and speaks to a negative stigma that’s always existed around influencers and kept us separated from mainstream Hollywood. Some people who don’t understand what we do think that being a creator isn’t a “real job.” But it’s our livelihood. Creating content is how I pay for my home, my groceries, my car, just living my life.
I’m a movie enthusiast who posts about films and celebrates all things Hollywood. I’ve amassed about 470,000 followers on TikTok alone. I started off as a cosplayer, but my love of talking about films turned me into an unofficial movie commentator.
I’ve been eligible to join SAG-AFTRA for three years, but never able to afford the dues, holding me back from becoming a full-fledged member. The dues would be a few thousand dollars out of the gate. I’m beating myself up for not doing it. I hope I can join eventually — one major reason why I’m adhering to the picket line. (Editor’s note: SAG-AFTRA has told creators they’ll be prohibited from joining the guild later if they are perceived to have crossed the picket line by performing work on the part of networks, streamers, and studios — like promoting newly-launched films or TV shows — during the labor stoppage.)
Being a creator in Hollywood during the strike is tough. We’ve been asked to participate in this fight, which has cost many of us lots of money and triggered accusations of being “scabs” — a term I’d never come across before this strike, but which refers to people who actively break the picket line.
I’ve put all my partnerships and brand deals with studios and struck companies on pause, even though I won’t be directly protected by SAG-AFTRA’s eventual contract and we don’t have a seat at the negotiating table.
I’ve given up more than five figures worth of brand deals, including several gigs over the past few weeks that individually would have netted me between $7,000 and $15,000. I pulled out of attending San Diego Comic-Con and turned down a job promoting Barbie dolls because it was close to the “Barbie” movie.
Each year, I tend to land a handful, maybe two or three, of larger deals in the $15,000 to $20,000 neighborhood, so, for me, turning these jobs down is sacrificing a big chunk of money. I’ve had to go back to bartending to make ends meet and probably set myself back even further in terms of affording union dues down the line.
Making matters worse, there’s a harsh rhetoric toward creators, encouraging us to fall in line and not to speak up even though many are dismayed by what’s being asked of us. “It’s not about you. Stop taking away from the strike,” we’re told by critics online. “Do not make this about you.”
We can’t even vocalize how much we’ve lost.
(Editor’s note: A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson said in a statement that the changes its members are striking for “will benefit everyone in the years to come” and the guild is “committed to working with [creators] to navigate strike rules as they look for new partnership opportunities during this time.”
“SAG-AFTRA remains committed to a deal, and we call on the AMPTP to return to the negotiating table and put an end to the strike so our members and those in the content creator space can get back to work as soon as possible,” the statement said.)
The implicit message to creators has been that SAG-AFTRA is the gatekeeper to the career we want
I’ve asked my manager to stop sending opportunities for new gigs indefinitely while I support SAG-AFTRA. I’m organizing meetups with other creators to head to the picket lines. I did attend the premiere of Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” after the strike started, but made clear to the film’s PR reps that I wouldn’t post about it until this is over.
The whole experience has shown me there’s a hierarchy in Hollywood, and creators rank at the bottom. The implicit message from the actors’ guild is: We’re the gatekeepers of the career you want. If you don’t follow our rules, you won’t be able to join us. That door will be closed to you.
While SAG-AFTRA’s foundation does have emergency relief funds for dues-paying members who can verify they’re in a legitimate financial crisis, creators like me who aren’t members are ineligible to access this support. As a creator, I feel undervalued and conflicted.
At the start of the strike, there was an almost mob mentality online that pitted the two sides against each other. Even now when I speak up in my videos, having conversations with others in the creator community, or organizing my strike meetups, some people tell me to “shut up.” It fuels fear, and so many creators are worried that what they say doesn’t matter and what they feel isn’t important.
A heavy depression set in for me in the first two weeks of the strike because the thing that brought me joy and really motivated me to get up each day, I couldn’t do anymore.
I walked into my closet thinking I’d lean heavily on cosplaying — a community I’ve loved and spent thousands of dollars on materials for. Then, I realized I couldn’t do that either because the rules for cosplay are also strict.
There’s been a huge uproar against some cosplayers I know; audiences have criticized them for dressing up as characters from comics or books during the strike.
I closed the door to the closet and haven’t made any cosplay content since.
Some creators are wondering how long this will last, and their confidence is being tested
“Pivoting” is the word of the day among creators right now. We’re doing it with a reluctant smile on our faces.
We are casualties of this. Some creators I know have said they will probably never make content again, because either they’ve suffered attacks from the scab hunters — the witch hunters — or simply from losing the thing that brought them joy. It’s sad that no matter what we creators say, I know there are still those out there who will post negative content to garner attention.
I worry about the future. Who knows what the world of content creation and influencing is going to look like at the end of the strike? What if studios like Warner Bros. see that I posted about picketing outside of their studios and I never get another brand deal from them again?
In some of my group chats with fellow creators, murmurs are bubbling up about how long they’ll continue holding the line. I wouldn’t say resolve is fully fracturing. I don’t know if creators are emboldened yet, but these conversations have started because they are hurt. Some people are wondering: How long are they going to expect us to do the things that we love to do?
As for me, I don’t see myself breaking. I’ll pivot to other topics and have made a series of videos specifically about the strike. Since I’m back to bartending, I don’t have as much time to create new videos, though.
The bottom line is that, I’m not bound by SAG-AFTRA membership, so this is a decision I’m making for myself — I’m the one tying my own hands. I’m tying my hands for the bigger future that, one day, I hope I’ll be able to build.
And what this whole experience has done more than anything is show me that the content creator community has really not had a voice during this strike. So, if I want to make a change and help support this community, I have no choice but to join the guild. We are underrepresented in this new world. This moment provides the clearest proof of why, now and in the future, creators need representation at the table.
Insider correspondent Reed Alexander is a member of SAG-AFTRA.
Do you work in the entertainment industry? How are the SAG-AFTRA or Writers Guild of America strikes affecting you? Contact this reporter to share your story. Reed Alexander can be reached via email at [email protected], or SMS/the encrypted app Signal at (561) 247-5758.
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