Selena Gomez received a few side-eye glances recently when she posted something to her Instagram account that was considered improper because of the ongoing Hollywood strike between studios, writers, and actors.
In a now-deleted post, Gomez shared a video from the set of her Hulu comedy Only Murders in the Building and captioned the post with the words, “Missing and wanting.” She also tagged the official Instagram account for the series.
Actors and writers are prohibited from promoting their work until the Hollywood strike is over. And Gomez’s post was viewed by many people as breaking the SAG-AFTRA policy. That specific policy “instructs all SAG-AFTRA members to cease rendering all services and performing all work covered by the TV/Theatrical contracts.”
These services include promotion/publicity services including posting on social media about struck work, tours, interviews, fan expos, premieres, and screenings to name a few. Breaking SAG-AFTRA strike rules can lead to “censure, reprimand, fine, suspension, and/or expulsion.”
Her message received more than 1.1 million likes in 15 hours before it was taken down.
Currently, in its third season, Only Murders in the Building, like all the TV series and movies that have premiered during the strike, hasn’t had the opportunity to hold any press interviews for its cast. Variety asked SAG-AFTRA to comment on the situation, but representatives declined.
Some people on social media believe Gomez made a simple mistake and didn’t realize her post may have gone against guild rules.
Others used sarcasm to share their thoughts on the matter.
And some were wondering if they were allowed to call Selena Gomez a scab, a term used for those who break strike rules.
New episodes of Only Murders in the Building air every Tuesday on Hulu.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Only Murders in the Building being covered here wouldn’t exist.