Why The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards Had No Red Carpet
The award show took an unexpected detour amid the ongoing writer's strike.
The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards looked a bit different than planned. Like any major award show, the MTV Movie & TV Awards is carefully thought out and months in the making, but amid the ongoing writer's strike from the Writer's Guild of America (WGA), the award show took an unexpected detour.
Due to the writer's strike, the highly-anticipated red carpet was completely scrapped. The MTV Movie & TV Awards is always an exciting red carpet to look forward to — one with more risk-taking looks. However, with more pressing matters at hand, as the WGA labor union remains steady, the state of the award show's red carpet was impacted.
It was not only the red carpet that was affected. The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards was also live-streamed — another pivoted decision due to the writer's strike. Leading up to the event, the WGA labor union announced they would hold a demonstration at the award show as a stance against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
Additionally, days before the award show, Drew Barrymore dropped out as the host. "I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike," Barrymore said in a statement, per Entertainment Weekly. "Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation." The actress did state she hopes to be able to join the event again next year, "when [she] can truly celebrate everything that MTV has created, which is a show that allows fans to choose who the awards go to and is truly inclusive."
Barrymore hasn't been the only celebrity to stand in solidarity with the WGA. Lisa Ann Walter, Jennifer Coolidge, Ziwe, John Mulaney, Snoop Dogg, Jay Leno, Bill Nye, Amanda Seyfried, Quinta Brunson, Olivia Wilde, and Mindy Khaling, among more, have all been spotted on the picket lines.
The writer's strike formed after six weeks of negotiations for a better film and TV contract failed. Points that the writers are looking to address in the new contract include better compensation, greater protections, and ridding the compensation of streaming residuals.
However, through all the discord, the show must go on — and the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards most certainly did.
"As we carefully navigate how best to deliver the fan-first awards' show we envisioned that our team has worked so hard to create, we're pivoting away from a live event that still enables us to produce a memorable night full of exclusive sneak peeks, irreverent categories our audience has come to expect, and countless moments that will both surprise and delight as we honor the best of film and TV over the past year," said Bruce Gillmer, President of Music, Music Talent, Programming and Events at Paramount Global, and an executive producer of the MTV Movie & TV Awards, in a statement, per People.
Fan-favorite movies and TV shows still received their accolades for the evening: The Last of Us won "Best Show" starring Pedro Pascal (who won "Best Hero") and Bella Ramsey (who won "Best Duo" alongside Pascal). Jenna Ortega took home an award for "Best Performance in a Show" starring as Wednesday Addams in Wednesday. Jennifer Coolidge won "Most Frightened Performance" for her role in The White Lotus, and Elizabeth Olsen was chosen as "Best Villian" for her starring role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
