Dwayne Johnson Makes 7-Figure Donation to SAG-AFTRA Strike

Dwayne Johnson is offering his support for the SAG-AFTRA strike by submitting a massive donation for union members currently unemployed.

He contributed a seven figure amount to the foundation's relief fund, delivering grants of up to $1,500 a member, or up $6,000 if the member is in dire need for emergency assistance.

The exact amount he donated is confidential but the Foundation's president said his team reached out after the foundation sent a letter to the highest earning union members outlining financial problems others will face.

“It was a love fest. It’s like, ‘Man, you’re stepping up in a way that is allowing others to know the dire necessity of it.’ This is him saying, ‘In such a time as this, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, whatever you need me to do.’ And that sends a huge message to other folks to do the same thing.”

The foundation’s executive director, Cyd Wilson, said his donation is the “largest single donation” they have ever received from one person at one time.

“And what is amazing is that that one check is going to help thousands of actors keep food on their table, and keep their kids safe, and keep their cars running. And it’s not lost on me that [Dwayne’s] very humble about this, but it is a way to get us started.”

The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has been on strike since July 14th over an ongoing dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). 

The decision to strike came two months after the Writers Guild of America also went on strike over issues including residuals from streaming content and the use of AI in scripts.

“This is a very seminal hour for us. I went in thinking that we would be able to avert a strike. The gravity of this move is not lost on me. It’s a very serious thing that impacts thousands — if not millions — of people all across this country and around the world. Not only members of this union, but people who work in other industries that service the people that work in this industry. … We had no choice. We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity.”

This strike marks the first time both actors and writers have been on strike together since 1960.

Many celebrities have been showing their support, picketing outside studios, while others have been revealing small amounts of residuals earned through streaming.

Mandy Moore has explained residuals could once sustain actors between projects but its slowly becoming not the case.

“We’re in incredibly fortunate positions as working actors having been on shows that found tremendous success in one way or another … but many actors in our position for years before us were able to live off of residuals or at least pay their bills,” she said adding she received “very tiny, like, 81-cent checks” for streaming residuals for 'This Is Us.'

Mandy played Rebecca Pearson on the drama from 2016 to 2022, further addressing the residual issue on Instagram after she joined the picket line outside Disney.

“Ours is a fickle industry and in my 20+ years of being a performer, my career has ebbed and flowed. I’ve had very lean years where I couldn’t get a job and those are precisely the moments when in years past, actors could rely on residuals from their past work to help them get by. The world and business have changed and I’m hoping we can find a meaningful solution moving forward.”