When news broke of the big letter to SAG-AFTRA, signed by hundreds of A-List actors, urging the union not to settle for anything less than a “transformative” deal when negotiating with production studios over next year’s contracts, it was a big deal.
With the WGA already on strike, mainly over residual pay and AI concerns, SAG-AFTRA has already authorized a strike should the negotiations for them go sour too. Studios are digging their heels in, especially when it comes to AI and streaming residuals, and this letter was a powerful confirmation from acting’s biggest representatives that they know the future of the business is hanging in the balance.
Stars…They Have To Use Google Docs Just Like Us

Given the auspicious nature of the moment, if one were to think about the logistics of getting all of Hollywood’s biggest names to sign that contract would be some kind of dramatic scene – assistants being sent door to door with manilla envelopes, something like that.
However, as reality so often is, it was not as cinematic as all that. As a matter of fact, the signing of this historic letter to SAG-AFTRA representatives was so mundane it crosses over into the mildly hilarious.
Actress Tari Gevinson, known for roles in shows such as Gossip Girl and The Twilight Zone, described to The Hollywood Reporter what it was actually like to sign the letter.
I received a link to a Google doc from Megan Boone over text Tuesday morning, who was among the first wave of signatories, in a text. It was funny to open it and see the cursor named Anonymous Hedgehog be like ‘JOHN SLATTERY.’

Yes, that’s right: This letter that will no doubt be referenced when discussing the history of SAG-AFTRA and the business for years to come was signed on Google Docs – the same place kids go to throw together school projects they don’t want to do, and adults go to draft the cover letters they’ll never see replies to.
There’s something funny about knowing that movie stars have to contend with being labeled “Anonymous Hedgehog” because they didn’t feel like signing in to Google to quickly type their name on a doc and then leave. Meryl Streep could have been Anonymous Llama. Elliot Page could have been Anonymous Chupacabra. (No, really, that’s one of the animals you can be.)

The convenience of technology has, in so many ways, created more areas in which stars and regular people might have something in common. Sure, there’s a dating app out there that’s just for celebrities – but they all still have to use Google Docs.
2,000 members of SAG-AFTRA have now signed that letter. Talks are continuing into today, but the SAG-AFTRA contract is set to expire at midnight – if they don’t reach a deal or extend the deadline today, the union is officially going on strike.
What other everyday things do you think celebrities also have to use just like us? Drop a comment below.