The president of SAG-AFTRA reaches out to Zelina Vega following her WWE release.
Yesterday, WWE released Zelina Vega suddenly shortly before Friday Night SmackDown. Shortly before her release, she tweeted that she was pro-union.
Following that, The Screen Actors Guild and its president, former Beverly Hills 90210 star, Gabrielle Carteris, reached out to Vega in support of her statement.
Hey @Zelina_VegaWWE Thanks for standing strong for labor solidarity. I support you. Please email me PresidentCarteris[at]sagaftra.org https://t.co/tYEiiFhB9S
— Gabrielle Carteris (@TheGabrielle_C) November 14, 2020
Speaking with WrestlingInc, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who has been very critical of WWE's recent edict regarding its Superstars interacting with third-party platforms such as Twitch and Cameo, discussed the benefits of professional wrestlers joining SAG.
"I think that's one approach that could really work wonders, and if you were to ask professional wrestlers, 'how many of you would like to be part of the Screen Actors Guild?' I have a feeling you'd see every single hand go up because SAG affords tremendous protections to other actors and actresses who are on-screen every day and every week," Yang said. "The parallels are almost 100% where if you're a professional wrestler, you are inhabiting a character, you are given storylines and plots, in some cases you're given actual lines, you rehearse [and] you perform in front of a televised audience.
"So they should be members of SAG, and that would be transformative for the industry. Wrestling has been in the dark in terms of it being included in things like SAG because of its roots, but if you look up at the reality now, I mean you're talking about hours and hours of scripted TV programming every week, and the wrestlers are the talent. So by right, they should be considered for SAG membership and all of its protections."
In a Twitch stream following her release, Zelina Vega said she has no ill will towards the company and thanked them for allowing her to achieve her dreams. Learn more at this link.
