Ryan Murphy Threatened to Sue WGA Strike Captain: Report

Director Ryan Murphy threatened to sue a former East Coast strike captain of the Writers Guild of America after he accused Murphy of anti-union practices, according to a memo recently obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. In late June, Warren Leight alleged in a tweet that crew on Murphy’s American Horror Story told him “they’ll be blackballed in Murphy-land” unless they cross the picket line. A spokesperson for Murphy called the claims “absolute nonsense” and “categorically false” before his attorney sent a letter to WGA about the incident, according to THR. Leight then apologized for his “unsubstantiated” and “completely false and inaccurate” against Murphy’s show. WGA East Coast officers sent a memo to the region’s strike captains informing them that Leight agreed to step back from his roles as captain and co-chair of the Strike Rules Compliance Committee as part of a process to address Murphy’s concerns. Murphy, who is a member of WGA West, currently has three scripted TV series under production, although he is working mainly as a producer and director on those projects. “Our foe in this fight is not other members, it is the AMPTP,” the WGA memo reads. “If we turn on each other, the AMPTP wins.”