LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Selena Gomez swiftly reversed her stance on Wednesday, August 30, following accusations of sharing an Instagram post that violated SAG-AFTRA's ongoing actors' strike regulations.
The 31-year-old entertainer initially posted a video seemingly showcasing behind-the-scenes glimpses from the set of her highly-praised Hulu comedy series, 'Only Murders In The Building'.
This show features renowned talents including Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Meryl Streep.
Selena Gomez deletes Instagram post
In the accompanying caption, Gomez expressed her yearning for the show, writing, "Missing and wanting @onlymurdershulu." She concluded the succinct text by tagging the official account of the series.
However, fans promptly flocked to the comment section, alerting her that the post might breach SAG-AFTRA's guidelines prohibiting the promotion of film and television projects during the strike.
The post was eventually removed after approximately 15 hours, according to sources at Variety. Attempts have been made to contact Gomez's representative for her remarks on the matter.
Prior to its deletion, her post had garnered a staggering 1.1 million interactions.
To date, Gomez has refrained from making any public statements about the post, its removal, or the ongoing strike led by SAG-AFTRA against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a representative body for major studios and streaming platforms.
This clash revolves around contract disputes, with actors striving for improved compensation and higher residuals.
SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are concurrently engaged in the strike, sharing a common objective to deter studios from implementing AI technology in their processes.
Actors fear the possibility of being substituted or emulated by AI programs, enabling studios to evade the need for actual performers.
Writers, on the other hand, are focused on preventing the utilization of AI for script creation, potentially reducing the need for multiple writers by having a single individual revise and edit computer-generated scripts.
Selena Gomez's social media misstep
These unions are also pushing for transparency from streaming services regarding viewership statistics. This data could serve to verify the legitimacy of payout distribution and prevent fraudulent practices.
Furthermore, such data could empower actors and writers to renegotiate contracts based on their project's performance, a facet of the industry usually concealed by studios and streaming platforms.
Industry experts have speculated that streaming services might prefer to keep viewership data hidden due to the possibility of it revealing lower engagement than publicized.
Gomez's now-deleted post raised suspicions that she might have been circumventing SAG-AFTRA's rules against promoting work affected by the strike.
While she did not speak in the video and refrained from urging her followers to watch the series, her tagging of the official account of 'Only Murders In The Building' was perceived by some as promotional in nature.
Critics commented that the singer-actress displayed a lack of sensitivity, with others accusing her of undermining the union's efforts.
It remains unclear whether Gomez herself posted the video and caption, or if it was the work of an assistant or social media manager.
Alongside her co-stars, Gomez has been prohibited from granting interviews or endorsing 'Only Murders In The Building' due to her union membership.
This is in spite of Hulu continuing to release new episodes weekly.
While Gomez cannot promote her show due to union guidelines, she remains free to pursue her musical career.
Her recent release, the standalone track 'Single Soon', is a testament to her continued artistic endeavors.
