Jack Black took it upon himself to raise the spirits of his fellow striking actors by stripping to his underwear and singing a Taylor Swift song at a fundraiser.
Black was performing at the Give Back-ular Spectacular! Show on Wednesday (October 25) at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, an event held to support members of the acting union SAG-AFTRA who are struggling due to the strikes.
Black, who had been expected to perform a stand-up set, ripped his shirt off and walked through the crowd, asking for any song requests.
Responding to one suggestion for Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero’, Black said, “I know that one. Everyone knows that fucking song!”
Audience member Amrita Khalid shared the clip of the performance on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding, “Watching Jack Black strip and then serenade us with Taylor Swift wasn’t on my bingo card for 2023”.
Watching Jack Black strip and then serenade us with Taylor Swift wasn’t on my bingo card for 2023. pic.twitter.com/CU6R7WPgf0
— Amrita Khalid (@askhalid) October 26, 2023
Also appearing at the event were actors Bryan Cranston, Lily Tomlin and The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White.
Talks between SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and Hollywood studios were due to re-open this week, having previously broken down earlier in the month.
The action began in July when the union failed to come to an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over increased pay, a share of streaming revenue and protection against actors’ images and voices being replicated by AI.
The Writers Guild of America, the American union that represents scriptwriters, had also been engaged in a separate dispute in recent months, but that strike ended on September 27.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, a Zoom meeting was held on October 17 between union leaders and a group of leading Hollywood stars, including George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson and Robert De Niro. The actors suggested that higher earners could pay more in union fees, which they estimated would generate $50 million (£41 million) a year.
In response to the suggestion, SAG-AFTRA said, “This generous concept is worthy of consideration, but it is in no way related to and would have no bearing on this present contract or even as a subject of collective bargaining.”
Earlier this month, Black’s band Tenacious D announced a UK and Ireland tour for April and May next year.
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