Boston: The ongoing Hollywood writers' strike seems to be finding allies across the country. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was booed by Boston University students when he visited the campus to deliver a speech.
Zaslav on Sunday was met with boos and angry chants. While delivering the commencement speech, he was interrupted by the graduates with chants "Pay your writers". A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.
The studio CEO was saying, "If you want to be successful, you should get along with everyone and that includes difficult people" when the students started chanting in support of the writers. He continued to say, "Some people will be looking for a fight" but the chants overwhelmed his voice.
During his 20-minute speech, he had to pause at several points due to interruptions from the crowd. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he was told "We don't want you here", "Pay your writers", and "Shut up, Zaslav".
Zaslav responded to the incident in a statement and said: "I am grateful to my alma mater, Boston University, for inviting me to be part of today's commencement and for giving me an honorary degree, and, as I have often said, I am immensely supportive of writers and hope the strike is resolved soon and in a way that they feel recognizes their value."
The Writers Guild of America East expressed gratitude for the solidarity. "The WGA is thankful to all the B.U. graduates for chanting 'Pay your writers' at Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav while he delivered the #BU2023 commencement address," tweeted the organisation.
"If Warner Bros Discovery can afford to pay its CEO David Zaslav $286 million in compensation over the past 2 years, it can afford to pay its writers much better wages and benefits. Mr. Zaslav: Listen to the Boston University students and the Writers Guild. Pay your writers," tweeted US Senator Bernie Sanders.