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\u201cI have spent my entire life in the spotlight,\u201d Brooke Shields said in a campaign<\/a> video to be the President of Actors\u2019 Equity Association, a union for those working in live performances. And rather than shirk fame, Shields is leaning into the limelight and lending her image to a cause she truly cares about.<\/p>\n The 1990s supermodel-turned-TV-icon has found herself in a new leading role\u2014having won the election<\/a> in late May and now representing the union which is comprised of more than 51,000 actors and stage managers. At the helm for the next four years, Shields has her work cut out for her. But Shields insists she isn\u2019t afraid of a challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHow do I use Brooke Shields \u2014 that thing that is separate from me, that\u2019s a job, and is a commodity of some sort \u2014 to make a difference for a community that\u2019s given nothing but love and acceptance to me when it was not cool to cast somebody who had zero Broadway training,\u201d she pondered in a interview with the New York Times\u2019<\/em><\/a> Michael Paulson, adding that the theater community has always been welcoming and had her back.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her public persona is something Shields \u201cstruggled with my entire life,\u201d said the actor who took her first role at 11 months. \u201cSo how do I turn it into something I don\u2019t resent?\u201d<\/p>\n While Shields is an industry name, she\u2019s more known for her work on the screen than her stage performances. That being said, Shields has gone on Broadway<\/a> as a replacement for roles like Morticia Addams in \u201cThe Addams Family\u201d and Sally Bowles in \u201cCabaret.\u201d As Paulson notes, Shields defeated two other contenders for union president\u00a0 who had more significant union experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shields says the first union meeting she ran was like a scene out of Monty Python\u2014she was unaware of the lingo or even the procedure, like Robert\u2019s Rules of Order<\/a>. There\u2019s \u201ca huge learning curve,\u201d Shields says, but \u201cI\u2019m ready.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Famously, Shields is not the only \u201890s icon lending her name to the union cause. Last summer, Fran Drescher<\/a>, known for \u201cThe Nanny,\u201d traded her cheetah print blazers for SAG-AFTRA union tees.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us,\u201d Drescher said at a famous press conference a year<\/a> ago. \u201cThey plead poverty, that they\u2019re losing money left and right, when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023, the screen actors\u2019 and writers\u2019 unions negotiated new contracts. Workers fought<\/a> for a number of things, including better conditions, fair wages amidst a new streaming economy with paltry residuals, and greater checks on artificial intelligence usage.\u00a0<\/p>\n Coming out of the Hollywood strikes tentatively victorious, the unions still have to bat off future fights with studios as AI advances<\/a> with minimum mitigation. Hollywood workers aren\u2019t alone: names mostly in the music industry<\/a> have since come out to call for intervention, stating that AI poses risk to their artistic integrity.\u00a0<\/p>\n And some big names have started to come to the front lines, as by nature of their name and net worth they have less to lose as their industry goes through, at best, growing pains or, at worst, a complete evisceration. Famed producer Tyler Perry recently voiced his fears of AI making jobs obsolete to the Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, adding that he\u2019s putting his studio expansion on pause after seeing OpenAI\u2019s Sora.<\/p>\n \u201cI absolutely think that it has to be an all hands on [deck], whole industry approach,\u201d Tyler Perry said to the outlet of the need for everyone to get involved. \u201cIt can\u2019t be one union fighting every contract every two or three years. I think that it has to be everybody, all involved in how do we protect the future of our industry because it is changing rapidly, right before our eyes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It seems as if not everyone can afford to be on the front of the picket lines in this economy, by nature of the industry\u2019s infamous paltry wages. The previous president of the Actors\u2019 Equity Association, Kate Shindle, announced<\/a> she wouldn\u2019t seek re-election because she spent so much time on the unpaid work of managing the members\u2019 crises, she had too few working hours to qualify for the union\u2019s health insurance.<\/p>\n While the fight against unchecked AI has been mostly waged in Hollywood for now, Broadway, too, is taking note. Some stars like Idina Menzel, Bette Midler, and Kristin Chenoweth have spoken out against the usage of AI platforms in the industry, according to Broadway World<\/a>. And the fight for fair wages continues for creatives off the screen. Negotiations stalled for the union as Equity Negotiating Team Chair Stephen Bogardus said in a statement<\/a> that \u201cthe wage package put across the table by The Broadway League was just plain unacceptable,\u201d adding that the proposed rate for the next five years meant members would be unable to afford to work.<\/p>\n As such, the union<\/a> has gone on strike against developmental work\u2014meaning projects in development will go on hold while negotiations are worked out. \u201cPeople aren\u2019t being compensated fairly,\u201d Shields says of the strike.<\/p>\n Shindle noted that her successor would have to tackle paltry wages or deal with a looming strike. \u201cThere\u2019s a battle on many fronts,\u201d she told the Times<\/em><\/a>, adding, \u201c it is a moral imperative for people who decide that they want to produce theater to build their structures around living wages for the artists that work for them.\u201d<\/p>\n And years after COVID-19 first hit, Broadway is still struggling to get a strong audience<\/a> back. \u201cIt\u2019s not fully recovered, obviously, from the pandemic,\u201d Shields adds, noting though that there have been some refreshing new shows.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like to fight; I like to discuss,\u201d she says to the Times,<\/em> though it\u2019s not time yet for her to hang up boxing gloves as the battle for artists is still just beginning.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nThe Hollywood strikes are done, but not the fight<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What Shields\u2019<\/strong> theater kids need: fair wages<\/strong><\/h2>\n