Striking actors banned from wearing Barbie and Wednesday Halloween costumes

While people across the globe will be whacking out their best Barbie and Wednesday Halloween costumes, the same can’t be said for actors on strike due to some strict SAG-AFTRA rules. 

Every Halloween a phenomenon haunts our streets: the ghosts of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters and TV shows. It’s a time for pop culture to possess the masses, prompting them to dress up as the year’s most raved-about characters. 

Remember in 2016 when every alleyway echoed with “Hey, Puddin’!” as every other person on the planet dressed in Harley Quinn’s famous pink and blue pigtails? Well, we can certainly expect the same this year with the likes of Barbie and Wednesday conjuring up some clearcut fancy dress ideas. 

But it appears SAG-AFTRA members won’t be joining in on the fun amid their ongoing strike action. 

Striking actors urged to follow strict Halloween costume rules

Members of SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors and performers in the US, have been banned from dressing up as characters from struck movies and TV shows and sharing photos of their outfits on social media. 

This includes Greta Gerwig’s summer smash Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s war epic Oppenheimer, as well as Netflix’s Wednesday. Certain superheroes are also off the cards, as the likes of Marvel’s Spider-Man and Thor are owned by Disney. 

Marvel Studios

SAG-AFTRA is currently striking in a bid for fairer pay in the streaming era and stricter regulation on the use of AI, following failed negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

And considering so many properties are owned by AMPTP companies, you might be wondering exactly who striking actors can dress up as? As per a post on its site, the guild urged members to “choose costumes inspired by generalized characters and figures – ghost, zombie, spider, etc.”

They can also wear costumes “from non-struck content, like an animated TV show.” It finished the post by saying: “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.”

There are, of course, a few gray areas – as highlighted by Variety, “members can safely dress up as the Jacob Elordi Elvis (from A24’s strike-proof Priscilla) but not Austin Butler’s King of Rock n’ Roll from Warner Bros.’ movie.”

I look forward to screaming “scab” at my 8 year old all night. She’s not in the union but she needs to learn

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) October 19, 2023

Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter states that “a truly determined fan” could argue that Barbie is, in fact, owned by Mattel and therefore fair game. 

“Yet the appearance of promoting the summer’s biggest movie from a major studio would surely be frowned upon and the whole idea is to be mindful of the message that a costume might send,” it said. 

You can read more about the SAG-AFTRA strike here and TV & Movies content here.