Whilst Hollywood’s striking writers reached a tentative agreement on September 24, ending a lengthy 148 days of protesting, actors have remained on strike.
As well as putting an indefinite halt to multiple film projects, actors have followed certain rules to push for better work conditions, and one of them impacted the way Halloween should’ve been observed this year.
But as we know, sometimes rules are made to be broken, and it appears that some actors have now come under fire for becoming strikebreakers, as they simply could not resist dressing up as the one thing they had been forbidden to.
Margot Robbie and Megan Fox were criticized by the SAG-AFTRA for attending Halloween parties in costumes that were banned by strike rules
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Actors have joined the picket lines since June, protesting poor salaries, worries about streaming service, and the use of artificial intelligence, amongst other concerns.
As a result, the SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the American labor union representing approximately 160,000 media professionals worldwide, has assigned sets of rules for actors to follow during the strike, such as not engaging in promotional work.
Margot wore a costume of V from the cult movie V For Vendetta, considered strikebreaking according to the SAG-AFTRA strike rules
Image credits: Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage
In a now-deleted post, the SAG-AFTRA released an official statement on October 20 recommending that actors not wear certain Halloween costumes, as they could violate the rules of its strike.
As per the National Public Radio, the union wrote that actors should stay away from wearing costumes inspired by struck content and instead opt for generic characters, like a ghost or zombie.
Actors could "dress up as characters from non-struck content, like an animated TV show.”
The union wrote: "Let's use our collective power to send a loud and clear message to our struck employers that we will not promote their content without a fair contract!”
As Megan Fox had received backlash for her own strikebreaking costume before Margot, people started to call out the difference
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Unfortunately for Margot Robbie, the message was not clear enough.
The Barbie Actress disregarded the established strike protocols and donned the guise of the vigilante character V from the cult movie V For Vendetta, as she made a public appearance at the Casamigos Halloween party in Los Angeles on Friday (October 27).
Margot reportedly managed to maintain complete anonymity in her costume when she arrived at the star-studded gathering.
The Australian starlet sported an entirely black ensemble, comprising a form-fitting pencil dress, a long duster coat, and high-heeled boots.
To complete her appearance, the 33-year-old producer donned V's iconic bob wig.
Margot's costume sparked outrage as strikers were meant to avoid attire that meant promoting content without a fair contract
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It is worth noting that V for Vendetta, starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman, was released in 2006 on the same day as Margot's box office record success Barbie, on March 17.
Moreover, Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of Warner Bros. and DC Comics, owns V’s mask's rights and receives a licensing fee for each official mask sold.
In September, Margot was spotted participating in a protest alongside fellow SAG members at a rally in Los Angeles.
Megan Fox attended the same Halloween party alongside Machine Gun Kelly; both wore strikebreaking costumes
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Megan Fox took an extreme alternative route when she showed up to the Casamigos Halloween Party as Gogo Yubari, the schoolgirl assassin in Quentin Tarantino's 2003 movie, Kill Bill: Volume 1, and tagged SAG-AFTRA on Instagram in a picture displaying her costume.
The 37-year-old actress appeared alongside fiancé Machine Gun Kelly, who dressed as Uma Thurman's iconic Bride character from the same movie.
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Megan’s move to seemingly snub the union on social media sparked outrage amongst multiple members.
“What a rebel,” Abbott Elementary star Lisa Ann Walter wrote Sunday on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“Meanwhile we’ll be working 10 hours a day - unpaid - to get basic contract earners a fair deal.
“(PS ... No one cares about kids’ costumes. Just high pros at fancy parties. Like Megan)”
SAG members fumed over Megan's costume, sarcastically calling her move "rebellious"
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Upon the release of its Halloween costume rules, the SAG-AFTRA received backlash from people in showbiz who didn't understand the point it
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Upon releasing its initial Halloween directives for costumes, SAG members received multiple adverse reactions from high-profile professionals in the industry, such as American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy, who wrote, "I cannot express to you how insane this is.”
Ryan added: “Do these leaders not understand how much our crews are hurting? How so many are losing their homes....their mental health?
“And they scoff imperiously at George Clooney's generous offer to help AND on the same day publicize this Halloween costume nonsense? It's shameful.”
Ryan Reynolds made fun of the SAG-AFTRA announcement on X
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Actor Ryan Reynolds responded to an X post published by Variety sharing the news of SAG’s Halloween costume rules: “I look forward to screaming 'scab' at my 8-year-old all night. She’s not in the union but she needs to learn.”
The union ended up responding to the backlash by clarifying that the guidelines did “not apply to anyone’s kids.”
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Many people were divided regarding the union's Halloween costume rules
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