A-listers including Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio donate $1 million each to SAG-AFTRA relief fund
Hollywood's biggest stars have put their money where their mouth is and contributed big sums to a relief fund for actors amid their ongoing strike against major Hollywood studios.
On Wednesday, SAG-AFTRA Foundation President Courtney B. Vance announced the nonprofit raised over $15 million in the past three weeks for its Emergency Financial Assistance Program, with donations of $1 million or more from a number of A-listers.
Big names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Meryl Streep and Oprah Winfrey were among those contributing huge sums to the relief fund — following in the footsteps of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who in July made a "milestone" undisclosed seven-figure donation, the largest it ever received at the time.
The list of million-dollar donors also includes George and Amal Clooney, Luciana and Matt Damon, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Hugh Jackman, Deborra-Lee Furness, and Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, the foundation said.
"Dwayne Johnson helped kick-start this campaign by giving a historic seven-figure donation," Vance said in a statement. "And, two longtime champions of our Foundation and leaders on our Actors Council, Meryl Streep and George Clooney, stepped up with $1 million donations, emails, and many calls to action rallying others to give generously."
Streep, a three-time Oscar winner, said actors must stand together against corporations who are seeking to take the "humanity" out of their profession.
"I remember my days as a waiter, cleaner, typist, even my time on the unemployment line," Streep said. "I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath. We will stand strong together against these powerful corporations who are bent on taking the humanity, the human dignity, even the human out of our profession."
Despite the big boost of support, Vance said there is still more money to raise as the strike continues with no clear end in sight.
"We've crushed our initial goal because our people are coming together, but we still aren't done," he added. "Our fundraising will continue in order to meet the overwhelming needs of our community now and in the future."
For the first time since 1960, both Hollywood actors and writers are on strike simultaneously, a move that has effectively shut down scripted production across the industry. The Screen Actors Guild has more than 160,000 members, although the strike only affects the union's roughly 65,000 actors.
Editor's note: Paramount Pictures, one of the studios involved in the negotiations, and CBS News are both part of Paramount Global. Also, some CBS News staff are SAG-AFTRA or Writers Guild members, but their contracts are not affected by the strikes