Bill Maher grills Gavin Newsom on the "knuckleheads" that held up the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes

Maher asks California's governor why he didn't do some “jawboning” to resolve the strikes quicker

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published January 20, 2024 2:59PM (EST)

Gov. Gavin Newsom on "Real Time with Bill Maher" (Courtesy of HBO)
Gov. Gavin Newsom on "Real Time with Bill Maher" (Courtesy of HBO)

Over the past few weeks, there have been numerous disappointing announcements from the film and television industry, making it known that people will have to wait upwards of a year for the latest seasons of shows they've been looking forward to seeing, and movies they've been keeping an eye out for. 

In a segment of "Real Time with Bill Maher," which kicked off its 22nd season on Friday night, Maher spoke to California Governor Gavin Newsom about the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that caused these delays, asking why he didn't do some "jawboning" to help them come to a resolution sooner.

To this, Newsom assured that he did his part, “not only meeting with both sides, meeting with individuals, phone calls, text messages, emails, working behind the scenes, national groups, state groups," but stressed that, in matters such as these, “sometimes you are more public, sometimes it is behind the scenes,” making it clear that his strategy was "not showing your cards and showing a bias upfront, so you can be constructive behind the scenes when both parties call you when you are needed."

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