Just three days before the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, host Drew Barrymore has made a shocking decision regarding her hosting duties.
Variety broke the news that Barrymore, in support of the WGA writer's strike, is backing out of her hosting duties for the awards show that's supposed to take place this Sunday. The MTV Movie & TV Awards will still go on, they will just be hostless.
In a statement, Barrymore said, “I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike.” She continued, “Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation. And until a solution is reached, I am choosing to wait but I'll be watching from home and hope you will join me. I thank MTV, who has truly been some of the best partners I have ever worked with. And I can't wait to be a part of this next year, when I can truly celebrate everything that MTV has created, which is a show that allows fans to choose who the awards go to and is truly inclusive.”
Bruce Gilmmer, the president of music, music talent, programming, and events at Paramount GLobal and an executive producer of the MTV Movie & TV Awards said the following in a statement: “Drew, without question, she’s been incredible. It’s hard to imagine that we’ve ever had a better experience with a host. She’s more of a partner really, she’s in it every day, just super passionate and super engaged and creative. She even bought some of her own team along for the journey. So when this all reared its head, we started to prepare for what could be. She is not surprisingly, standing in solidarity with the writers, which we have full respect for. She has our full support.
“So she’s not going to be with us live in the house for the show and we will essentially be going hostless. The silver lining in all of this is that we really formed a partnership almost a family-like atmosphere. So we see this as a shift in direction, but also a pause for the initial plan, which we’ve all agreed and she’s accepted to continue as our host in 2024.”
The writer's strike has caused a frenzy all around for every pocket of the industry. For MTV and their award show, the show is now in a constant state of flux as they must adjust and see who's still coming among presenters, nominees, and guests. In addition, there will now no longer be any red carpet or talent interviews before the show likely due to concern about one specific topic dominating those conversations.
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