As Hollywood is going through major strikes, studio executives are not having a pleasant time. David Zaslav’s commencement speech at Boston University and the whole incident that followed was a clear statement of how everyone demands fair pay for Hollywood workers. The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO felt a horde of humiliation after being booed by uncountable students during his speech at Nickerson Field.
Hollywood is currently in a state of shutdown after both the Writers and Screen actors went on strikes for fair pay. Amidst this, when David Zaslav appeared at Boston University, the internet saw numerous videos about how the students were merciless while calling out the WBD President for the Writers’ strike.
David Zaslav was welcomed with public humiliation
David Zaslav became a more familiar face after he welcomed criticism a few months back after becoming the president of WBD leading to some controversial decisions. The fans still haven’t forgotten about how Mr. Zaslav trashed some completed projects like Batgirl and canceled some of the fan-favorite shows from HBO Max.
Recently as he was seen delivering the commencement speech at Boston University, the internet witnessed several videos where the students can be seen chanting “Pay your writers”. The 63-year-old’s speech was repeatedly interrupted by a massive wave of students calling out the Executive.
As the speech commenced, there were also chants of “We don’t want you here” and “Shut up Zaslav”. However, David Zaslav went on to explain his struggles in his professional career and also advised the students on how certain people will always look for a fight and how they should always focus on the good in people.
“Some people will be looking for a fight. But don’t be the one they find it with. Focus on good people’s qualities. In my career, I’ve seen so many talented people lose opportunities or jobs because they couldn’t get along with others.You can’t choose the people you work with. Figure out what you like about a person.”
But it didn’t look like the students wanted advice from him and were rather more interested in fair treatment to the workers in the first place. Zaslav who is a former student of Boston University also addressed the writers’ strike by saying that it is mainly due to the changing trends of content consumption. He also added that he is in full solidarity with the writers.
“As I have often said, I am immensely supportive of writers and hope the strike is resolved soon and in a way that they feel recognizes their value.”
As expected, the students didn’t buy that and many protesters also picketed outside the ground in demand of a fair contract. Although the Boston University President believed that Mr. Zaslav’s accomplishments would inspire many, it was proved totally wrong after many students within the campus also campaigned against him.
How did the WGA respond to this incident?
The incident garnered widespread internet coverage as many came together and spoke both against David Zaslav and for fair pay to the writers. Some also pointed out that if Warner Bros. Discovery could pay $286 million to Zaslav over the past two years, they could provide better treatment to the writers.
The Writers Guild of America, East also appreciated all the students of the University who showed their full solidarity with the strike.
The WGA is thankful to all the B.U. graduates for chanting “Pay your writers” at Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav while he delivered the #BU2023 commencement address. #WGAStrike https://t.co/p0kky3RyUp
— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) May 21, 2023
They have also publicly called out the decision of BU to call David Zaslav a “poor decision”. They called out the decision by complaining that they shouldn’t have given a voice to someone who doesn’t hold good intentions for the ones trying to make their future in movies and television.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
