Actor and retired professional wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has made an extraordinary donation of a “seven-figure” amount to SAG-AFTRA, the actors union currently on strike. A representative for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation shared this news with HuffPost on Monday.
According to the outlet, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has been on strike since July 13, joining the ongoing Writers Guild of America East and West strike to demand equitable pay and improved work conditions in Hollywood.
Of the 160,000 SAG-AFTRA members, roughly 2,700 of the union’s highest earners received a letter from the union’s president, Courtney B. Vance, and executive director, Cyd Wilson, detailing the need for financial assistance amid the work stoppage.
Johnson’s seven-figure donation is the largest lump sum the union has received from a single donor since it was founded in 1985, a representative told HuffPost, referring to it as a “milestone.”
The exact amount of Johnson’s donation has not been disclosed. However, Wilson told Variety, which first reported the news on Monday, that the sum will likely help 7,000 to 10,000 members through the union’s Emergency Financial Assistance Program.
“It is a call to arms for all of us to know that we just have to step up however you can,” Vance told Variety. “Dwayne is letting everyone know, ‘I’m here. What are you going to do?’”
