'Comic Book Villain-Level Evil': Universal's Alleged Stunt to Deal with Protestors Leaves Leftists Fuming
Universal Pictures is being accused of trimming trees outside of its property in Hollywood during a heatwave in order to deny picketers shade during the industry’s ongoing shutdown.
The studio has denied it hired a landscaper in order to make those on strike feel the heat.
KTLA-TV reported the trees were trimmed sometime over last weekend and that when TV writers showed up to protest on Monday they were greeted by the sun.
The Los Angeles City Controller’s Office is investigating after several trees were cut near Universal Studios property on a day when writers, actors and other film industry union workers were set to picket during ongoing labor disputes.https://t.co/rWvwq8dpr8
— KTLA (@KTLA) July 19, 2023
Before and after photos of the trees have gone viral on social media and have been accompanied by accusations of cruelty:
before pic pic.twitter.com/W5t1adCYzH
— Charles Patrick (@CharliePatrick) July 19, 2023
Quick shoutout to the good people at @UniversalPics for trimming the trees that gave our picket line shade right before a 90+ degree week. pic.twitter.com/aZvvPYQ23i
— Chris Stephens (@ChrisStephensMD) July 17, 2023
So, in short, Universal illegally and severely trimmed back trees along a strike route to deprive protesters of shade during a heat wave.
That’s straight-up malice, bordering on comic book villain-level evil. https://t.co/pYG1mGNTgd
— Michael C. Bailey – indie author (he/him/his) (@MCBaileyWriter) July 19, 2023
Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia said on Twitter the tree trimming is under investigation.
“Our Office is investigating the tree trimming that occurred outside Universal Studios where workers, writers, and actors are exercising their right to picket,” Mejia tweeted. “The trimmed trees are LA City managed street trees.”
Our Office is investigating the tree trimming that occurred outside Universal Studios where workers, writers, and actors are exercising their right to picket.
The trimmed trees are LA City managed street trees.
(Before and after photos below) pic.twitter.com/xczw0bTdh9
— LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia (@lacontroller) July 19, 2023
Unions representing the strikers accused the company of creating an unsafe situation in which picketers were forced to “patrol in busy streets with significant car traffic where two picketers have already been struck by a car,” the U.K.’s Guardian reported.
In a statement to The Washington Post, NBCUniversal said the trees were pruned due to safety concerns and were not part of an attempt at union busting.
“We understand that the safety tree trimming of the Ficus trees we did on Barham Blvd. has created unintended challenges for demonstrators,” the company said. “That was not our intention.”
NBCUniversal said it has since offered canopies and tents to strikers for shade as temperatures in the area are expected to rise this week.
The company also said it has trimmed the trees in question for years.
As an industry, Hollywood is effectively closed for the foreseeable future as an ongoing stroke by TV writers was joined last week by actors.
Writers who are demanding more money and more generous residual income were joined last Friday when the 160,000 members SAG-AFTRA union announced a work stoppage.
The actors are also demanding higher wages. Both the writers and actors have claimed their bottom lines have been decimated by the emergence of streaming as the way most people consume media.
The dual strike is the first to affect the film and TV industries since the 1960s, CNN Business reported.
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