105 actors, producers and executives have signed a letter petitioning NBC to cancel their prime time town hall with Donald Trump scheduled for tonight. The letter, sent to NBCUniversal and Comcast execs decries the network for “enabling the president’s bad behavior while undercutting the Presidential Debate Commission and doing a disservice to the American public.” Trump’s hour-long town hall is scheduled to air at 8PM ET, directly opposite Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s town hall which will air ABC at the same time.
Biden’s town hall was organized and scheduled prior to Trump’s, after Trump declined to participate in a virtual debate with his political opponent. While candidates are guaranteed equal air time, the scheduling of the event directly opposite Biden’s is peculiar and, in the words of longtime NBC employee Katie Couric, a “bad decision.”
The contents of the letter appealing to NBC and Comcast chiefs are in full below, along with the names of everyone who signed it:
To Brian Roberts, Jeff Shell and Cesar Conde:
We are a group of writers, actors, directors and producers. Many of us have been lucky enough to work for NBCUniversal at some point in our careers. Some of us are currently employed at your studio. We have always thought of NBCUniversal as both a terrific creative home and a brand that stands for the best in entertainment and broadcast journalism.
This is why we have been devastated to learn that you have chosen to air President Trump’s town hall this Thursday night at 8 p.m., directly opposite Vice President Biden’s town hall.
This is not a partisan issue. This is about the political health of our democracy.
President Trump refused to participate in the virtual debate scheduled for Thursday night by the Presidential Debate Commission. By agreeing to air his town hall as counterprogramming opposite Vice President Biden’s town hall on ABC, you are enabling the President’s bad behavior while undercutting the Presidential Debate Commission and doing a disservice to the American public.
We believe this kind of indifference to the norms and rules of our democracy are what have brought our country to this perilous state.
We are simply asking that NBC air the President’s town hall either before or after Vice President Biden’s so that American voters can have the opportunity to watch both.
We understand the necessities of business, especially in this difficult time. But we believe there are larger issues of civic responsibility at stake here.
Signed…
Aaron Sorkin
Adam McKay
Adam Scott
Alex Barnow
Allison Tolman
Amy Lippman
Amy Schumer
Aubrey Plaza
Ava DuVernay
Ayelet Waldman
Ben Stiller
Billy Eichner
Billy Porter
Brendan Gall
Chelsea Handler
Chris Bishop
Chris Meloni
Chris Miller
Chris Sullivan
Chrissy Metz
Courtney Kemp
Dahvi Waller
Damon Lindelof
Dan Fogelman
Daniel Hageman
David A. Goodman
David Guggenheim
Debra Messing
Ely Henry
Emily Gordon
Eric Guggeheim
Greg Berlanti
JJ Abrams
Jason Moore
Jennifer Yale
Jill Knox
Jim Parriott
Joe Mantello
Jon Cryer
Jon Hamm
Jon Huertas
Josh Gad
Josh Singer
Julianne Moore
Julie Plec
Justin Hartley
Keith Powell
Kenya Barris
Kevin Hageman
Kumail Nanjiani
Laeta Kalogridis
Latoya Morgan
Mandy Moore
Marc Guggenheim
Mariska Hargitay
Marti Noxon
Martin Gero
Matthew Lopez
Max Mutchnick
Michael Chabon
Michael Green
Michele Fazekas
Milo Ventimiglia
Neal Baer
Nicholas Stoller
Nicole Yorkin
Otmara Marrero
Parvesh Cheena
Patton Oswalt
Phil Lord
Preacher Lawson
Robert Kirkman
Ryan Murphy
Samuel Baum
Sarah Schechter
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Treem
Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth Rogen
Shakina Nayfack
Sophia Bush
Sterling K. Brown
Sunil Nayir
Susan Kelechi Watson
Tara Butters
Terry Matalas
Thor Freudenthal
Tom McCarthy
Tony Kushner
Travis Beacham
Vanessa Taylor
Zoe Lister-Jones
Ken Olin
Abbi Jacobson
Alison Janney
David Kohan
Robert King
Malcolm Spellman
Seth MacFarlane
Marjorie David
Donald Faison
Chris Misiano
David Goyer
Julie Martin
Joss Whedon
Chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, Cesar Conde, has heard the complaints lodged against the network and issued the following statement: “Our decision is motivated only by fairness, not business considerations. We aired a town hall with Vice President Biden on October 5 at 8pm. If we were to move our town hall with President Trump to a later time slot we would be violating our commitment to offer both campaigns access to the same audience and the same forum. We hope voters will watch both discussions – ours will be available at any time, free and on-demand on YouTube, Peacock and all our digital news platforms.” In other words, sorry, Detectives Benson and Stabler, we appreciate your services in the SVU but we won’t be hiring you on our programming team.
This story has been updated to include NBC’s response.
"celebrities" - Google News
October 15, 2020 at 10:22PM
https://ift.tt/3dwt9hJ
Seth Rogen, Ava DuVernay And 100+ Other Celebs Sign Petition Protesting NBC's Trump Town Hall - Decider
"celebrities" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bWxE3n
https://ift.tt/3fdiOHW
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Seth Rogen, Ava DuVernay And 100+ Other Celebs Sign Petition Protesting NBC's Trump Town Hall - Decider"
Post a Comment