‘SO DUMB’

Actors Can’t Dress Up as Barbie for Halloween, SAG Warns

Hollywood performers instead should “choose costumes inspired by generalized characters and figures (ghost, zombie, spider, etc),” the actors’ union told members this week.

In an eyebrow-raising new move, amidst its ongoing strike, SAG-AFTRA has released a statement instructing its members not to post photos of Halloween costumes “inspired by struck content” to social media, advising Hollywood performers instead to “choose costumes inspired by generalized characters and figures (ghost, zombie, spider, etc).”

This may be a tough pill to swallow for famous actors, who absolutely love to go all-out in costumes inspired by the biggest films and TV shows of now and yesteryear, just like the rest of us. Whether our biggest stars will adhere to these guidelines or risk being reprimanded by their union remains to be seen.

According to Google, which has assessed this year’s search terms, the most popular Halloween costumes for 2023 are Barbie (ranked at no.1) Spider-Man (no. 3) and Wednesday Addams (no. 6); celebrities not being permitted to dress up as Barbie, in particular, is sure to inspire panicked text messages sent to many scrambling stylists this afternoon.

After all, the hot pink juggernaut was one of the biggest box office successes of the year, with $1.437 grossed globally thus far and having earned its status as the film that launched a thousand memes.

“Let’s use our collective power to send a loud and clear message to our struck employers that we will not promote their content without a fair contract,” SAG concluded in its costume announcement.

While Halloween costumes are perceived to be just for fun, whether it’s Paris Hilton getting dressed up as Sailor Moon or Kaia Gerber turning a look as Trinity from The Matrix, these are outfits that promote IP. In this case, it’s the kind of IP that counts.

Thus far, however, reactions on social media have been mixed.

“SAG leadership is becoming more unserious by the day,” one Jenny Ortega (she plays Wednesday Addams) fan account posted. “How are they gonna dictate what actors choose to wear for Halloween? So dumb.”

“If you look at what SAG/AFTRA actually posted about Halloween costumes, there’s no ‘prohibition’ on anything,” another poster observed. “The Guild is basically saying, if you’re going to post pics of your costumes on social, don’t choose struck work. That’s...logical!”

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