Matt Walsh will appear on season 32 of Dancing with the Stars following a deal made with the WGA.
“With the hopeful resolution and vote with the WGA, Dancing with the Stars would no longer be a struck show therefore all cast would be able to return. This includes WGA member Matt Walsh,” Walsh’s rep said in a statement to Deadline on Monday, September 25.
The actor and writer, 37, took to social media to share the exciting news — and note to his followers how people need to continue to work just as hard to get SAG-AFTRA members back to work.
“It’s been a brutal summer for all of us union members, so happy the WGA brokered a deal with the studios, it will be nice to put down our signs,” he wrote via Instagram. “Now let’s use this momentum to get all SAG/AFTRA actors back to work.”
On Thursday, September 21, Us Weekly confirmed that the DWTS premiere was at risk of being pushed back as celebrities continued to voice concerts over the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of TV and Radio Actors (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Walsh — a member of the WGA — announced that same day that he was “taking a pause” from the series in solidarity with the other union members.
“I am taking a pause from Dancing with the Stars until an agreement is made with the WGA,” he told Variety in a statement. “I was excited to join the show and did so under the impression that it was not a WGA show and fell under a different agreement. This morning when I was informed by my union, the WGA, that it is considered struck work I walked out of my rehearsal.”
He continued: “I have been and will always stand with my union members of the WGA, SAG and DGA [Director’s Guild of America]. Beyond our union artists, I am sensitive to the many people impacted by the strike and I hope for a speedy and fair resolution, and to one day work again with all the wonderful people I met at DWTS who tolerated my dancing.”
Following his statement, SAG-AFTRA explained why their union members set to appear on DWTS 32 were exempt from the strike rules.
“Our members appearing on Dancing With the Stars are working under the Network Code agreement, which is a non-struck contract,” a spokesperson for the SAG-AFTRA told Variety in a statement on Thursday, September 21. “They are required to go to work, are not in violation of SAG-AFTRA strike rules, and we support them in fulfilling their contractual obligations.”
Season 32 of DWTS includes SAG-AFTRA members Alyson Hannigan, Jamie Lynn Spears, Barry Williams, Mira Sorvino, Ariana Madix and Xochitl Gomez alongside host Alfonso Ribeiro, judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough, and all of the professional dancers.
“The program is a SAG-AFTRA non-dramatic production under a separate agreement that is not subject to the union’s strike order,” the statement continued. “The majority of our members on Dancing with the Stars had contractual obligations to the show prior to the strike. Many are under option agreements that require them to return to the show if the producer exercises their option which the producer has done.”
DWTS season 32 will premiere Tuesday, September 26 at 5 PM ET on ABC.
