With the historic SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike entering its third week, actors are starting to feel the financial pinch of not working. Fortunately, there are some A-listers stepping in to help. More than a dozen stars have ponied up millions to support the cause, and the names are a regular who’s who of top Hollywood.

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SAG president Courtney B. Vance revealed that the organization pulled in over $15 million in donations for its emergency financial assistance program, per Variety. SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild are striking for the first time together since 1960, and they want better wages and residuals in the streaming age, along as protections against AI.

“The entertainment industry is in crisis and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation is currently processing more than 30 times our usual number of applications for emergency aid. We received 400 applications in the last week alone,” Vance said. “It’s a massive challenge, but we’re determined to meet this moment.”

The first big name celeb to grab headlines with a sizeable seven-figure donation was Dwayne Johnson. Vance said that was a “call to arms” for everyone to “step up,” aka pony up some cash for the less fortunate journeymen actors out there.

Apparently it worked, because the big names came though. They include: Nicole Kidman; Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck; Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively; Julia Roberts; Arnold Schwarzenegger; Meryl Streep; Oprah; George and Amal Clooney; Luciana and Matt Damon; Leonardo DiCaprio; Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness.

Vance said it was Johnson who helped to “kickstart” things.

“I appealed to our community to remember how tough it was coming up, and the response to help their fellow performers has been incredible, immediate and heartwarming,” Vance said.

Vance singled out Clooney and Streep for donating “$1 million” and persuading others to do the same. Streep said she remembers when she was working as a “waiter, cleaner, typist,” and even being unemployed:

“In this strike action, I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath. We will stand strong together against these powerful corporations who are bent on taking the humanity, the human dignity, even the human out of our profession. I am proudest of my fellow actors who have immediately offered to fund the Emergency Financial Assistance Program.”

Clooney said he was “proud to be able to support the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and my fellow actors who may be struggling in this historic moment. We’ve stood on the shoulders of the likes of Bette Davis and Jimmy Cagney and it’s time for our generation to give something back.”

No one knows when the strike will end, but after a three-month standoff, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have agreed to restart talks with the striking entertainers. We’ll keep you posted.

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