Selena Gomez deleted an Instagram post which probably broke strike rules

Since the SAG-AFTRA strike started in July, many multi-hyphenate celebrities have been finding work-arounds to do interviews and promotion. Take, for example, Selena Gomez. Selena is an actress, beauty company founder and singer – she can promote her music and makeup whenever she wants, but she’s strictly prohibited from promoting anything as an actress, per SAG-AFTRA guidelines. The prohibition on promotion includes social media. Well, Selena has been posting stuff on her social media about music, makeup and her life, but this week, she also posted something on Instagram about Only Murders in the Building, her show which is currently airing on Hulu. She ended up deleting it after people called her a scab!

An Instagram post that tagged her Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building” was pulled from Selena Gomez’s profile after she was accused by many followers of breaking SAG-AFTRA strike rules. The post appeared to be a video from the set of the comedy show. Gomez tagged the official Instagram account for “Only Murders in the Building” in the caption for the video and added: “Missing and wanting.” The post generated over 1.1 million likes in 15 hours before it was pulled from Gomez’s profile.

Variety has reached out to Gomez’s representative. SAG-AFTRA declined to comment on the matter.

SAG-AFTRA’s strike rules prohibit members from promoting their work via press interviews or social media posts while the strike persists. Gomez did not speak in the set video nor did she encourage followers to watch the show in the caption, but she did tag the official “Only Murders in the Building” account. The tag led followers to assume the video was from the set of the Hulu series. Whether that constitutes a rule break was being debated. Many of Gomez’s followers accused her of scabbing, with one follower calling the post “tone deaf” amid the strikes.

Given the strike, Gomez and her co-stars have not given any interviews about Season 3 episodes. New episodes premiere each Tuesday on Hulu.

Gomez recently made headlines for returning to her music career with the release of her new song “Single Soon,” which dropped Aug. 25. The track is a standalone single and is not attached to any album at this point. Gomez is able to freely promote her music as that does not interfere with SAG-AFTRA strike rules.

[From Variety]

Was the post promotion? Sure, I think so. Even if it’s debatable, it’s best to err on the side of caution. I wonder what preceded Selena’s deletion – as in, I wonder if some SAG official called her and spoke to her. From what we’re seeing in the trade papers and on social media, SAG-AFTRA’s leaders are being extremely active and responsive when it comes to herding their wayward members back into the flock. Sarah Silverman questioned the strike waivers and they had her on the phone with Fran Drescher within 24 hours. Stephen Amell scabbed and questioned the strike and they had him holding a sign at a New York strike inside a few weeks. I’m just saying, I bet Selena got a call from Fran or someone high-up.

why is selena gomez promoting her show during a strike? She’s soooo selfish pic.twitter.com/MdKgiMhp6d

— JONETI (@jarianaoutdid) August 30, 2023

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and Instagram.