Sydney Sweeney’s Pay Feedback Resurface Amid SAG Strike
The Emmy-nominated actor is a mainstay of many reveals which have seen large success on streaming platforms, comparable to Euphoria, The White Lotus, and The Handmaid’s Story. Regardless of this, she has beforehand mentioned that she could be unable to pay her payments from performing alone.
For context, Sydney spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about eager to be a younger mom final July. “I want to have a family, I’ve always wanted to be a young mom, and I’m worried about how this industry puts stigmas on young women who have children and looks at them in a different light,” she began. “I was worried that, if I don’t work, there is no money and no support for kids I would have […] If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have income to cover that.”
The 25-year-old additional famous the impression of declining residuals on her earnings: “They don’t pay actors like they used to, and with streamers, you not get residuals. The established stars nonetheless receives a commission, however I’ve to present 5 p.c to my lawyer, 10 p.c to my brokers, 3 p.c or one thing like that to my enterprise supervisor. I’ve to pay my publicist each month, and that’s greater than my mortgage.”
Certainly, many prices related to doing the press wanted to stay within the fashionable consciousness — comparable to journey, styling, and make-up — aren’t essentially lined by studios. As such, Sydney defined that she took on model offers: “If I just acted, I wouldn’t be able to afford my life in L.A. I take deals because I have to.” The profile then emphasised that Sydney was not in search of pity, however quite wished to be clear concerning the state of the business.
Sydney was broadly ridiculed for her feedback, with many taking the “six month” remark out of its authentic context of her incapacity to take parental go away. “im sorry yall not about to have me pity sydney sweeney like all these actors are very much okay!” one tweet learn to the tune of virtually 70k likes.
Sydney herself later famous that her quotes had been “skewed,” telling Elle, “I used to be requested if I wished to have a household and I mentioned sure. After which I used to be requested why I didn’t have one but, and I used to be like, I don’t have time to take even, like, a six-month break. Like, I don’t have time to have the ability to begin this household.”
Now, the continued SAG-AFTRA strike has undoubtedly introduced the subject of streaming residuals to the mainstream forefront. Many actors have been sharing how little they’ve made lately, together with Mandy Moore, who mentioned that she had recieved “81-cent” checks for That is Us, and Orange is the New Black’s Kimiko Glenn, who shared in 2020 that she obtained $27.30 in abroad royalties for the Netflix hit.
As Sydney identified, residuals have been as soon as essential to an actor’s earnings. As her Anybody however You costar, Glen Powell, put it: “For years, I survived off of residuals while trying to make it as a working actor. This business continues to evolve and actors’ livelihoods should be protected every step of the way.”
Amid SAG-AFTRA’s strike phrases on honest compensation, some have revisited Sydney’s feedback. One TikTok with over 100k views, added, “The way people dragged her for saying she cannot afford to take a break […] that take home [pay] is so small compared to what you could’ve gotten on network TV 20 years ago.”
One other TikTok with over 700k views mentioned, “Mind you, she’s been on two giant shows. If she can’t take a break, imagine the actors who are just trying to break into the industry now.”
You may learn extra concerning the SAG-AFTRA strike right here and actors’ residuals right here.
