Ryan Murphy is winding down his relationship with Netflix, as his roughly $300 million deal with the herculean streaming platform is set to end after five years. Multiple reports say he’s likely headed back to Disney to reunite with Dana Walden, the current Co-Chairman of the company, with whom he collaborated on such groundbreaking series as Glee and American Horror Story.
Murphy’s return, however, does come with some controversy. While Writers Guild members continue to protest in both New York and Los Angeles, he appears to be working during the strike. According to several WGA East members, Murphy has conntinued filming—locking down sets and sneaking in the likes of Kim Kardashian for “American Horror Story: Delicate.”
“Doesn’t appear that @KimKardashian is a friend of the labor movement,” WGA Captain T Cooper wrote on Twitter. “She just now crossed our picket line to work on @ryanmurphyprod Ryan Murphy’s @AHSFX Hamptons, shooting here on 52nd in NYC. The workers are in the right.”
Doesn’t appear that @KimKardashian is a friend of the labor movement. 🤔 She just now crossed our picket line to work on @ryanmurphyprod Ryan Murphy’s @AHSFX Hamptons, shooting here on 52nd in NYC. 🤷🏻 The workers are in the right. See: all of history #wgastrong #wgastrike pic.twitter.com/CK34h2GPuw
— T Cooper (@RealTCooper) June 21, 2023
Another WGA Captain, Caroline Renard, responded to a Tweet announcing Murphy’s departure from Netflix and a possible move to Disney.
“I thought we were on strike…” She wrote.
I thought we were on strike… https://t.co/OdIH8wvFoG
— Caroline “WGA Captain on Strike” Renard (@carolinerenard_) June 20, 2023
On the scene, former “Law & Order: SVU” executive producer and current WGA strike captain Warren Leight alleged that crewmembers had to cross the line. According to them, they’d be “blackballed in Murphy-land” otherwise.
Leight eventually took the Tweet down, and a spokesperson for Murphy told Variety that the allegations were “absolute nonsense” and “categorically false.”
Strike aside, Murphy and Disney have several huge hurdles ahead of them, not the least of which involve Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ “don’t say gay” stance on education in his state.
