DREW THE RIGHT THING

‘Drew Barrymore Show’ Audience Members Kicked Out for Sporting WGA Pins: Report

Two audience members say they were removed by an “aggressive” crew member who noticed their pro-union buttons.

Two people who won free tickets to see Drew Barrymore’s daytime talk show on Monday—its first taping since April—were unceremoniously removed from the audience after a security guard spotted them wearing Writers Guild of America pins, they said. The would-be attendees, Dominic Turiczek and Cassidy Carter, told TheWrap that they had been handed the pins by union members picketing outside the show’s New York studio. They hadn’t even known about the strikes, they said, but that didn’t stop an “aggressive” member of security from approaching them before they could even take their seats. The man “was like, ‘No, you’re out. Get out, go.’ And he started pushing us towards the door,” Turiczek recalled. Barrymore drew fierce criticism from both unions after a Sunday announcement that her show would resume filming without its striking writers. A show spokesperson confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that two audience members had been barred, and that Barrymore “was completely unaware of the incident.” Meanwhile, Turiczek and Carter donned WGA shirts and joined the picketers outside. “If they think we’re part of the strike, we might as well be,” Turiczek said.