SAG-AFTRA AND WGA JOIN GLAAD IN RELEASING 11TH ANNUAL GLAAD STUDIO RESPONSIBILITY INDEX
SAG-AFTRA and the WGA have joined GLAAD to aid awareness, as GLAAD adds streaming services to report tracking, finds 28.5% of films from major studio distributors included an LGBTQ character.
In a statement from SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher:
“Right now there’s a very tiny but loud segment of our population that’s hard at work spreading hate and fear while attempting to squash all storytelling that showcases the full, beautiful reality of the human experience. Seeing diverse representation on screen is vital for empowering everyone to embrace their authentic selves. Sadly, the longer the AMPTP companies keep the entertainment industry shut down by refusing to come back to the bargaining table, the more risk there is for disrupting the progress that’s been made in terms of inclusive representation. Let’s make a deal and end this stalemate so we can continue sharing diverse stories and create a more hopeful, empathetic society for today’s young people.”
WGA Vice President Michele Mulroney:
“The doors of the entertainment industry began opening to LGBTQ+ writers at a time of significant downward pressure on pay and working conditions under the new streaming model. These writers, whose hearts and minds are bursting with stories they have waited too long to tell, now find themselves in jobs that don’t pay them enough to be able to sustain a career. The stalling of the AMPTP companies for the last 136 Days, and their refusal to engage in a basic negotiating process that gives writers a fair deal, threatens to impede the progress made by LGBTQ+ writers and deny our culture of powerful, authentic LGBTQ+ stories.”
GLAAD’s annual Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) maps the quantity, quality and diversity of LGBTQ characters in film during the previous calendar year. The study also serves as a road map for studios, identifying priorities and opportunities to increase and improve fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ representation and storytelling in film.
While the first decade of GLAAD’s SRI focused on films released theatrically from major studio distributors, changes in distribution styles coupled with evolved audience behaviors has prompted GLAAD to expand the study’s scope and include major streaming services. This 11th edition and new decade for GLAAD’s SRItracked the 2022 slates of ten top studio distributors and their subsidiary labels to see where LGBTQ characters are featured. The 10 distributors tracked in this index are: A24, Amazon Studios, AppleTV+, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
