While announcing the SAG-AFTRA strike in a press conference on Thursday, Fran Drescher took the opportunity to address the kerfuffle around her viral Kim Kardashian photo.
Drescher, who is the president of the actors union, caught heat on Monday after a photo of her and Kardashian at a Dolce & Gabbana event in Italy started making the rounds online. Many were quick to criticize the Nanny actress for what they perceived as a bad PR look amid SAG-AFTRA’s then-ongoing contract negotiations.
When Drescher was asked about the photo during Thursday’s press conference, SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland first took the mic and defended her.
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“Before Fran answers that, I want to say it is outrageous that they would do that,” he said, referring to people’s apparent attempts to discredit Drescher’s commitment to the union. “What Fran was doing was Fran was working, which is what our members do. And for these employers to cynically try to turn our members against Fran because she was doing a job, which she was under contract to do, while, by the way, she was Zooming into our negotiations after work hours, working 18 hours or more a day, it is outrageous. It is wrong, it’s despicable, and they should be ashamed of it.”
Drescher herself then spoke up, saying, “I appreciate that. You know, I’m a brand ambassador for a fashion company and so is Kim. I had only met Kim seconds before that publicity picture was taken. It had nothing to do with being at a party or having fun, it was absolute work. I was in hair and makeup three hours a day, walking in heels on cobblestones, doing things like that, which is work, not fun. I’m sure Kim would have rather been at her home in Malibu with her children too. But we work. That’s what we do.”
She continued: “And at 10:30 at night, I would leave the event, I would go to my hotel, and I would call into the Zoom. And when I couldn’t get through to them because I was on a plane, I was texting with [Crabtree-Ireland] constantly throughout the plane ride. I worked around the clock in three different time zones. So you know, I think all of the people behind me stand behind me.”
Judging by the SAG-AFTRA members who were quite literally standing behind her and applauding as she finished speaking, it appears she’s right.
