Drew Barrymore’s role as the host of the upcoming annual National Book Awards ceremony has been revoked by the National Book Foundation. This decision comes in light of the return of her talk show, “The Drew Barrymore Show,” scheduled for this fall amid ongoing Hollywood strikes.
The National Book Foundation conveyed its stance through a statement on social media, emphasizing that the National Book Awards is a dedicated evening celebrating the influence of literature and the invaluable contributions of writers to our culture. In response to the news of “The Drew Barrymore Show” resuming production, the foundation decided to rescind Ms. Barrymore’s invitation to host the 74th National Book Awards Ceremony.
The foundation further articulated, “Our commitment is to ensure that the focus of the Awards remains on celebrating writers and books, and we are grateful to Ms. Barrymore and her team for their understanding in this situation.”
Drew Barrymore had been previously announced as the host for the event scheduled for November 15. However, following protests against her decision to relaunch her talk show on September 18, the National Book Foundation has retracted its invitation without announcing a replacement host.
While some expressed their displeasure towards Barrymore, SAG-AFTRA issued a statement clarifying that the return of the talk show did not violate strike rules: “‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ is produced under the Network Television Code, which is a separate contract and is not struck. It is permissible work, and Drew’s role as host does not violate the current strike rules.”
Reports emerged that attendees of the show’s taping were asked to leave on Monday due to their support for the strike. In response, a spokesperson from “The Drew Barrymore Show” issued a statement, saying, “It is our policy to welcome everyone to our show tapings. Due to heightened security concerns today, we regret that two audience members were not permitted to attend or were not allowed access. Drew was completely unaware of the incident, and we are in the process of reaching out to the affected audience members to offer them new tickets.”
