Writers for E!'s hit show "Fashion Police," are calling out Joan Rivers for not supporting them as they strike to reach a fair agreement with the network.
In a new video, writers Jackie Beat, Dante, Eliza Skinner, Rob Nolan, Ned Rice, Todd Masterson and Bryan Cook said they're disappointed with the 80-year-old comedian.
While they admit that it was initially an honor to work for Rivers—made famous by her hilarious and often scathing views on pop culture—things turned sour when they approached the "Fashion Police" panelist about receiving things like health insurance, a pension plan and industry-standard compensation.
Being that Rivers is a fellow member of the Writers Guild, Skinner and the rest of the crew expected support and were surprised by her abrupt response.
"When we got to the point where we needed to talk about how we were treated and how we were compensated for doing all this work for her, she shut down," Skinner said in the 3-minute video.
"We went to our meeting like normal and we were like, 'Let's just ask Joan,' so we got together and were going to ask Joan. Ned said one sentence and boom, we were shot down," Masterson continued.
"She was completely not receptive to it. None of the producers were receptive to it. We were essentially told that if we tried to unionize, we would lose our jobs," Cook added.
Rivers denies any wrongdoing according to E! execs who say she "wants a fair agreement for them."
The trouble first began in April when the Writers Guild of America West filed a $1 million wage claim with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the claim accused the E! Network of violating state labor laws by not paying the writers for both regular and overtime hours. The official strike began two weeks later.
Check out the video below:
