Dwayne Johnson makes ‘historic’ donation to charity helping striking actors

Dwayne Johnson has made a “historic” donation to the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) Foundation as members of the union continue to strike.

The wrestler-turned-actor is reported to have made a seven-figure donation after the SAG-AFTRA Foundation – a charity associated with the union, but not part of it – issued a plea to its highest-earning members.

The charity organises financial relief to the union’s 160,000 members who have been on strike since 2 May after seeking higher pay and safeguards against unauthorised use of their images through artificial intelligence (AI).

SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B Vance and executive director Cyd Wilson told Variety that Johnson’s donation has the potential to “aid thousands of actors”.

“It’s the largest single donation that we’ve ever received from one individual at one time,” Mr Wilson said, adding that people will be able to keep food on the table, keep their children safe and their cars running.

The exact amount that the Moana actor donated remains unknown.

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On social media, the Foundation thanked Johnson for his “extraordinary generosity and historic donation”, hoping that it would encourage other high-profile members to follow suit.

Having started the strike officially on Friday 14 July, there is still no end in sight.

It is the first time in 63 years, that both SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are on strike at the same time.

Members of the WGA have been striking for the last two months, which has already had a big impact on productions such as season five of Stranger Things, season two of The Last Of Us, season six of The Handmaid’s Tale and Game Of Thrones spinoff A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight.

On 21 July, a host of British stars led a protest in London to show their solidarity with both actors and writers on strike in the US.

SAG-AFTRA have claimed that after four weeks of intensive talks, film and TV bosses have refused to compromise on health and pension plans.

But the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – the association representing major Hollywood studios including Walt Disney and Netflix – said earlier this month that a deal, including better pay and AI safeguards, had been offered, and accused the union of walking away from talks.