After Jean Smart posted on Instagram that Hollywood needs to scrap awards shows and figure out how to generate revenue for fire victims instead, former lead stage manager Debbie Williams had a few choice words for the Hacks star via Facebook.
“Dearest Jean Smart,” began Williams, a veteran of such shows as American Idol, the Oscars and the Grammys. “You are a wonderful actress and I’m sure your heart is in the right place … wanting to cancel all awards shows and taking the revenue and donating it to Fire Relief …. HOWEVER there is no revenue if there is no show and frankly, the workers who do the shows…the below the line production workers … truly need the work in an industry that has been suffering. These are normal crew and staff that rely on these jobs to feed their families. So be like Jamie Lee Curtis, who just donated 1 million dollars to the cause…and don’t take food out of the mouths of the people who make you look good on camera.”
Williams isn’t the only one to sound off about all the postponements and cancellations since the wildfires ravaged both the Palisades and Altadena. Hitting the pause button in an effort to show deference to the victims has ended up impacting everyone from limo drivers and construction workers to hair and make/up people and caterers — so much so that below-the-line workers who are still suffering from the effects of the dual strikes are starting to speak up about the loss of even more work.
“You’ve got all the agents and the celebrity handlers handling all the celebrities, but who’s taking care of your crew?” said a line producer, who didn’t want to be named for fear of sabotaging an upcoming gig that, for now, is still scheduled to occur. “Every time they cancel an event, there are hundreds of people who are not working. They lose that money.”
Now IATSE is weighing in, too.
“Hundreds of our members are employed on the awards shows and canceling these productions would make it even more difficult for them and their families while they’re facing the challenge of recovering from the fires during an industry contraction,” says IATSE International’s Mike Miller, who serves as director of the Motion Picture & Television Production Department.
At least some events have been rescheduled (albeit a few times); the 2025 Oscar nominations were at first shifted from Friday, Jan. 17 to Sunday, Jan. 19, before getting pushed back further to this Thursday at 5:30 a.m. PT. The voting window was also extended twice, and as of now, it will end Friday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. PT.
The 2025 Critics Choice Awards were scrapped on Jan. 12 and postponed until Jan. 26, before they were pushed again to February. The same went for nominee announcements for the WGAs, PGAs and SAG.
But some events haven’t been rescheduled while others were straight up canceled — like the BAFTA tea party and premieres for The Pitt, XO Kitty, The Night Agent, One of Them Days, Back in Action, Severance, and The Last Showgirl. And multiple events like the Spotify shindig have been scrapped before the Grammys on February 2, which is still a go though the ceremony will raise funds and honor first responders.
To her credit, Smart hasn’t recoiled from the criticism; she left her post up on IG, which has turned into a veritable sounding board for out-of-work crew members (though one person, in particular, suggested that Smart run for governor of California). Most of the commenters favor a telethon approach for the awards shows, with the celebrities ponying up a few of their goodies.
“I say go ahead and have the shows, but instead of million dollar gowns that are always ridiculous anyway, and instead of goody bags filled with $1000 bottles of champagne, and diamond earrings, maybe celebrities dress more simple and donate THAT money,” writes one.
