23-05-2025
IATSE pickets Will Smith music video
1 of 3 | Will Smith walks the red carpet at the Univision Premio Lo Nuestro award show on February 20. Picketers gathered outside where he was filming a new music video Friday. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
May 23 (UPI) -- Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees are picketing outside West Hollywood's Quixote Studios, where a Will Smith music video is in production.
Friday's strike was in response to the producers' refusal to offer union benefits to crew members. Deadline reports that the entire crew, which consisted of 35 people, were fired, prompting the picket.
Variety reported conflicting numbers. According to that outlet, IATSE Local 80 business manager Dejon Ellis said that around 20 people were fired.
Breathe Entertainment president Stephen Trivieri said that 10 people had been let go after refusing to go to work.
"While this music video features a globally recognized artist, it was independently financed and produced outside the scope of major studio or label backing. Like many artist-driven creative projects, this shoot was built around a clear non-union structure with transparent terms and fair compensation across all departments," Trivieri said, per Variety.
The music video is for a song off the actor's newest album, Based on a True Story, which dropped March 28.
