Ryan Murphy Threatens Legal Action Against Writers Guild Strike Captain.
According to reports, it has been revealed that Ryan Murphy, a prominent showrunner with three shows currently in production, has threatened to sue Warren Leight, a strike captain and member of the Strike Rules Compliance Committee within the Writers Guild of America (WGA). This legal threat has resulted in Leight stepping back from his captaining duties. The WGA leadership memo emphasizes that the real adversary in this situation is not fellow members but the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). It warns against turning on one another, which would only benefit the AMPTP.
The controversy began on June 21 when Leight, a former showrunner for Law & Order: SVU and a playwright, claimed in a tweet that crew members working on Murphy’s American Horror Story had informed him that they would face repercussions in Murphy’s projects if they refused to cross the Writers Guild’s picket lines. Murphy’s spokesperson promptly dismissed Leight’s tweet as baseless and false.
Subsequently, Murphy’s attorney, Craig Emanuel, sent a letter to the WGA leadership, threatening legal action against Leight. Following this development, union officials met with Leight, who deleted the tweet and issued a public apology and retraction, acknowledging that his initial statement was unfounded and completely inaccurate. Murphy’s representatives declined to comment further on the matter.
After meeting with Leight, the WGA East officers sent a memo regarding the threatened litigation to the strike captains. The Hollywood Reporter obtained the full transcript of this memo. As per the memo, Leight has voluntarily stepped back from his roles as co-chair of the Strike Rules Compliance Committee and as a captain.
Sources reveal that a routine strategy meeting between WGA East leadership, including Michael Winship, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, Chris Kyle, and the strike captains turned contentious. A strike captain from the East Coast states, “Everyone wanted to talk about Ryan Murphy. People were angry and demanding answers about why Warren lost his captaincy.
Leight, a vocal member of the WGA based in New York, had earned the nickname “Air Traffic Controller” for his dedicated work leading the Rapid Response Team, which directs striking writers to filming locations. Leight declined to comment on the matter for this article.
According to multiple sources, there are currently only four scripted TV series in production on the East Coast, with three of them produced by Ryan Murphy: American Horror Story, American Sports Story, and the episodic anthology American Horror Stories. The fourth series in production is Lionsgate/Starz’s Power Book 2: Ghost. While Murphy is a member of the WGA West, he can continue working as a producer and director as long as he does not perform tasks typically carried out by writers. Several sources have seen Murphy crossing WGA picket lines in New York twice last week. However, individuals close to Murphy assert that he has not been in New York for the past month.
Another strike captain from the East Coast states, “He is following the law and going to the set as a producer/showrunner/director. He claims he is not involved in writing, and no guild can convict him based on speculation. He is working on scripts that were completed before the strike commenced.
Meanwhile, the WGA has stated in its memo that it will continue to picket Murphy’s shows, and the Strike Rules Compliance Committee will thoroughly investigate any leads related to potential violations. If Murphy is found to have violated the strike rules, he could face consequences such as suspension, expulsion from membership, monetary fines, or censure. Following the 2007-08 writers’ strike, members accused of violating strike rules were brought before a trial committee, as was the case with Jay Leno, who was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing.
This internal conflict emerged as news surfaced on June 20 regarding Murphy’s negotiations with Disney to return to the studio with a lucrative overall deal. In the memo addressed to strike captains, WGA officers urged them to stay focused on the current battle, emphasizing that “Our foe is the AMPTP. If we turn on each other, the AMPTP wins.
The WGA had planned a morale-focused meeting with East Coast captains on Thursday, featuring guild leaders, including WGA negotiating committee co-chairs Chris Keyser and David Goodman. However, sources indicate that the discussion on Zoom has now been canceled.
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