Ryan Reynolds has hilarious reaction to ban on Halloween costumes for striking actors

Ban on Barbie and other popular characters comes amid a nationwide strike by actors in a dispute over pay, AI and employment conditions

Ryan Reynolds has reacted hilariously to the ban on striking actors dressing up as Barbie for Halloween.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued strict guidance ahead of the holiday, prohibiting striking actors from dressing up as popular characters from struck content for Halloween and posting pictures on social media.

This includes Barbie, Marvel superheroes or Wednesday Addams – all characters which are expected to be firm favourites during this spooky season.

Instead, the guild told members to “choose costumes inspired by generalized characters and figures — ghost, zombie, spider, etc” or to dress up as characters from non-struck content such as animated television shows.

“Let’s use our collective power to send a loud and clear message to our struck employers that we will not promote their content without a fair contract,” the guild said.

Hollywood star Reynolds mocked the new rules with a sarcastic post on X, formerly Twitter.

“I look forward to screaming “scab” at my 8 year old all night. She’s not in the union but she needs to learn,” he posted in response to a Variety article about the guidance.

The guidelines come amid a nationwide strike by actors in a dispute over pay, consistency of employment and control over the use of artificial intelligence.

The strike is nearing its 100th day after talks broke off with Hollywood studios on Saturday without a deal.

SAG-AFTRA said negotiations were suspended with studios after they offered a deal “worth less than they proposed before the strike began”.

The actors’ strike has been ongoing since 19 July, when SAG-AFTRA made the historic decision to join its fellow Writers Guild of America (WGA) members in the fight for a fairer deal.

However, the WGA union reached a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) last month, ending the writers’ strike after 146 days.

Striking actors have been banned from dressing up as Barbie for Halloween (© 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)

The return of writers has gotten the Hollywood production machine churning again, but the ongoing actors’ strike has led to delays and suspensions in production of many many TV shows and dozens of films, including Wicked, Deadpool 3 and Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 2.

The Emmys, whose nominations were announced the same day the actors’ strike was called, opted to wait for the stars this time and move their ceremony from September to January, though that date could be threatened too.

The Oscars are a long way off in March, but the campaigns to win them are usually well underway by now.

With some exceptions – non-studio productions approved by the union – performers are prohibited from promoting their films at press junkets or on red carpets.

So while Director Martin Scorsese has been giving interviews about his new Oscar contender Killers of the Flower Moon, star and SAG-AFTRA member Leonardo DiCaprio hasn’t.

Wires contributed reporting