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Oppenheimer Cast Walks Out Of Premiere In Solidarity With Actors Strike

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It’s time to pause the Barbenheimer memes and show support to the Hollywood writers and actors currently on strike.

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As of Thursday, July 13, the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) labor union has officially joined the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike in Hollywood. Ultimately, this means that every actively working actor and writer in Hollywood is currently on strike.

The decision for the SAG to go on strike took place at the exact same time when the London premiere of Oppenheimer was taking place. During different red-carpet interviews, both Emily Blunt and Matt Damon declared that the entire cast of Oppenheimer walk out of the premiere event if SAG called for a strike this afternoon.

As soon as SAG did call for a strike back in Los Angeles, Variety reported that the cast of Oppenheimer indeed left the premiere event for the film. Prior to screening the film in London, director Christopher Nolan got up on the stage and confirmed that the cast had exited the event.

“I have to acknowledge the work of our incredible cast,” Nolan announced. “Unfortunately, they’re off to write their picket signs for what I believe to be an imminent strike by SAG, joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of the union.”

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The main cast of Oppenheimer that attended this red-carpet premiere in London consisted of Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, and Robert Downey Jr. The film also features actors such as Rami Malek, Jack Quaid, Gustaf Skarsgård, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, and Casey Affleck in supporting roles.

For weeks now, the LGBTQ+ community had been having some fun sharing “Barbenheimer” memes on social media that were meant to support the release of both Barbie and Oppenheimer, which are opening on the very same date (July 21). However, these strikes might add another layer to this discourse given that actors and writers won’t be promoting or doing any press for their current and upcoming in the foreseeable future.

We hope that studio executives can listen to the writers and actors on strike to reach a fair agreement where creative individuals feel fairly compensated.

Oppenheimer opens July 21 in theaters.