SAG-AFTRA has produced three advocacy videos putting a spotlight on the challenges disabled actors face in pursuing and auditioning for jobs in the entertainment industry. The videos were produced as part of the union’s “Inclusion: Time to Get Real” campaign launched in connection with National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
The goal is to demonstrate how people with disabilities are underrepresented in TV and film, and when they are on screen, they are often misrepresented. In 2022, people with disabilities accounted for 8.8% of screen time, but those with visible disabilities made up only 0.4%, according to a Nielsen study.
“People with disabilities are America’s largest minority, representing nearly 26 percent of the nation’s population. Yet disabled performers are not afforded equal opportunities in entertainment and media and remain among the least represented in the industry,” said Christine Bruno, chair of the National Performers with Disabilities Committee, which steered the campaign.
“National Disability Employment Awareness Month not only celebrates the work of performers with disabilities, it is an opportunity to call attention to inaccurate, inauthentic portrayals of disability and the lived experience of disability,” Bruno said. “Most importantly, it is a call to action for the industry to commit to making the changes necessary to ensure disabled performers are authentically represented as an integral part of the American Scene.”
The videos are:
“True Cringe” featuring Michelle Hurd from “Anyone But You,” Jason T. Gaffney, Michale Bunin, and Khristina LaMonte, with audio description by Jack Patterson from “Criminal Minds”
“Can’t Do What?” featuring Jason George from “Grey’s Anatomy,” Angel Giuffria and Brian Dietzen, with audio description by Nicole Cyrille from “Grey’s Anatomy”
“You Are So Brave” featuring Jeri Ryan, Toni Nelli, Sarah Anne Masse and Diana Elizabeth Jordan, with Danny Gomez, Sam Lazarus, Skyler Davenport, Evelyn Stokes, Dr. Cynthia Lea Clark and Nicole Cyrille, with audio description by Cyrille.
“The Performers with Disabilities Committee has done a phenomenal job of creating several short films that address essential issues within the entertainment industry. SAG-AFTRA is committed to amplifying the needs of performers and other workers with disabilities not just during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, but always,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator.