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Stars including Jennifer Coolidge and Pedro Pascal have voiced their support for striking Hollywood writers at the pre-recorded MTV Movie and TV Awards.

The annual event had been due to return to LA’s famous Barker Hangar in Santa Monica live on Sunday night but the live show and red carpet were scrapped at the last minute in favour of a pre-recorded programme.

Scroll down for a full list of 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards winners

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Why are Hollywood writers striking?

Drew Barrymore had been due to host the ceremony, but pulled out in solidarity with those on strike, saying without television and film writers there would be no award shows.

Show bosses said they were “pivoting away from a live show” as they “carefully navigate how best to deliver the fan first awards’ show we envisioned”.

The writers’ strike began on Tuesday after 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) stopped working after negotiations between them and the studios failed to establish a new contract before their current deal expired.

Before the event was cancelled, the WGA had said it was planning to picket the awards.

The union is seeking higher minimum pay, more writers per show and less exclusivity on single projects.

Writers say they have suffered financially during the streaming TV boom, in part due to shorter seasons and smaller residual payments.

Half of the writers for TV series now work at minimum salary levels, compared with one-third in the 2013-14 season, according to Guild statistics.

Artificial intelligence is another issue at the bargaining table. The WGA wants safeguards to prevent studios from using AI to generate new scripts from writers’ previous work.

The strike is impacting some of America’s biggest shows, with Late-night US talk shows the first to suffer due to the need for their scripts to reference current events.

Daytime soap operas will follow, with primetime comedies and dramas the last to be affected due to their longer lead time.

Pic: Fabio Lovino/HBO
Image:
Jennifer Coolidge in The White Lotus. Pic: Fabio Lovino/HBO

Speaking on the pre-recorded MTV show as she accepted the comedic genius award, White Lotus star Coolidge said she stood “side by side” with those on strike, saying they were “fighting for the rights of artists everywhere”.

She went on: “You know, almost all great comedy starts with great writers.

“As a proud member of SAG (Screen Actors Guild), I stand here before you tonight, side by side with my sisters and brothers from the WGA (Writers Guild of America), that are fighting right now, fighting for the rights of artists everywhere.”

Pascal, who stars in the video-game adaptation The Last Of Us, acknowledged those “fighting very hard” for fair wages, as he accepted one of his trio of MTV awards on the night.

The hit show, written by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, won best show, while Pascal took best hero and best duo, for his performance alongside his British co-star Bella Ramsey.

Paying tribute to the writers, Pascal said: “Craig and Neil can’t be here. We are all… standing in solidarity with the WGA that is fighting very hard for fair wages. We thank you, we love you.”

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British actor James Quinn, who won the award for breakthrough performance for his role in season four of Stranger Things, also hailed the striking writers.

He said: “I don’t think that people would connect with a character like Eddie or others in the Stranger Things universe without compassionate, intelligent, quality writing.

“Being a writer is a hard job. It deserves respect. If we respect each other, we can cultivate a kinder, more inclusive, more collaborative environment for everyone… that’d be nice.”

Elsewhere, the show’s top prize – best movie – went to the slasher film Scream VI.

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Cruise juggles his MTV award acceptance with a message to the King

Tom Cruise was awarded best performance in a movie for his high-octane sequel Top Gun: Maverick, sending a message to fans from the cockpit of a plane.

The last WGA strike, in 2007 and 2008, lasted 100 days. The action cost the California economy an estimated $2.1bn (£1.68bn) as productions shut down and out-of-work writers, actors and producers cut back spending.

Full list of 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards winners

Best Hero: Pedro Pascal (The Last Of Us)

Best Performance in a Movie: Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick)

Best Docu-Reality Series: The Kardashians

Breakthrough Performance: Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things)

Best Reality On-Screen Team: Katie Maloney, Ariana Madix, Scheana Shay and Lala Kent (Vanderpump Rules)

Best Comedic Performance: Adam Sandler (Murder Mystery 2)

Best Duo: Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey (The Last Of Us)

Best Fight: Gale Weathers vs. Ghostface (Scream VI)

Most Frightened Performance: Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus)

Best Competition Series: RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars

Best Kiss: Madison Bailey and Rudy Pankow (Outer Banks)

Best Music Documentary: Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me

Best Show: The Last Of Us

Best Musical Moment: Purple Hearts, “Come Back Home”

Best Performance in a Show: Jenna Ortega (Wednesday)

Best Villain: Elisabeth Olsen (Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness)

Best Kick-Ass Cast: Stranger Things

Best Song: “Carolina” by Taylor Swift (Where The Crawdads Sing)

Best Host: Drew Barrymore (The Drew Barrymore Show)

Best Movie: Scream VI

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King Of The Hill and Parks And Recreation actor Jonathan Joss shot dead in Texas

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King Of The Hill and Parks And Recreation actor Jonathan Joss shot dead in Texas

An actor who appeared in animated series King Of The Hill and hit show Parks And Recreation has been shot dead near his home.

Jonathan Joss, 59, was found injured by police in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday evening.

Officers tried to save him but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The actor’s husband claimed the gunman shouted “violent homophobic slurs” before opening fire, and that Joss had pushed him out the way to save his life.

“He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other,” alleged Tristan Kern de Gonzales on Facebook.

He said the couple had previously faced harassment from neighbours, much of it “openly homophobic”.

Joss’s husband said they had been checking for mail at his old home – which earlier this year burned down in a fire that killed their three dogs – when they noticed the skull of one of the animals in front of the property.

He said they began “yelling and crying” and claimed they were approached by a man who threatened them with a gun.

“We were standing side by side,” said Mr Kern de Gonzales. “When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.”

However, San Antonio police said it had found no evidence that the shooting was a hate crime.

“Should any new evidence come to light, we will charge the suspect accordingly,” said a statement.

A 56-year-old man, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, has already been charged with murder.

Joss is best known for voicing Native American character John Redcorn in cult show King Of The Hill, which ran for 13 series and more than 250 episodes from 1997 to 2009.

He also had a recurring role in NBC’s Parks And Recreation as tribal elder and casino owner Chief Ken Hotate.

Read more from Sky News:
Colorado suspect charged with 16 counts of attempted murder
What did Elon Musk achieve at DOGE?

A King Of The Hill reboot is due to start in August and Joss had been in Austin, Texas, for events promoting the comeback the day before he was killed.

He posted a video on Instagram saying he was signing autographs at a comic book store, adding that he had already worked on four episodes of the revival.

“The fans get to revisit King Of the Hill again, which I think is an amazing thing because it’s a great show,” he said in the video.

The suspect is being held in a detention centre in San Antonio, but the lawyer representing him could not be traced as they were not listed in court records.

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Elon Musk calls Donald Trump-backed tax bill a ‘disgusting abomination’

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Elon Musk calls Donald Trump-backed tax bill a 'disgusting abomination'

Elon Musk has criticised US President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, calling it “outrageous” and a “disgusting abomination”.

The bill, which includes multi-trillion-dollar tax breaks, was passed by the House Republicans in May, and has been described by the president as a “big, beautiful bill”.

The tech billionaire hit out at the tax cuts on his platform X, writing: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore.

“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.

“Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk talk with to reporters near Tesla vehicles on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Washington. (Pool via AP)
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Elon Musk left his ‘special government employee’ role last week. Pic: AP.

In American politics, “pork” is a political metaphor used when government spending is allocated to local projects, usually to benefit politicians’ constituencies.

Musk left the administration abruptly last week after working to cut costs with his team, the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency – known as DOGE – with the ambition of sacking federal workers and cutting red tape.

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The White House brushed Musk’s comments aside, claiming they did not surprise the president.

In a press conference on Tuesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill”.

She added: “This is one, big, beautiful bill.

“And he’s sticking to it.”

The White House on Tuesday asked Congress to cut back $9.4bn in already approved spending, taking money away from DOGE.

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What did Musk achieve at DOGE?

The billionaire tweeted: “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!!) and burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”

He also suggested voting out politicians who advanced the president’s tax bill.

“In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,” Musk wrote in another X post.

How Musk’s mission to cut government spending fell flat

Last Thursday, Musk revealed on X that his scheduled time as a “special government employee” was coming to an end.

Before the news broke, Musk’s father told Sky News his son was “not a very good politician”.

But speaking to Gillian Joseph on The World, Errol Musk insisted there was “no rift between Elon and Donald Trump”.

Musk’s time at DOGE was controversial, with drastic cuts to America’s humanitarian efforts sparking particular criticism.

Questions have also been raised about whether the department has actually saved taxpayers as much money as suggested.

Musk initially had ambitions to slash government spending by $2trn (£1.5trn) – but this was dramatically reduced to $1trn (£750bn) and then to just $150bn (£111bn).

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as Elon Musk carries X Æ A-12 on his shoulders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 11, 2025.   REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Elon Musk brought his son X Æ A-12 to the Oval Office during a press conference earlier this year. Pic: Reuters.

The 53-year-old, who famously brought his son X Æ A-12 to the Oval Office, also expressed frustration about resistance to his ideas and clashed with other senior members of the Trump administration.

He recently told The Washington Post: “The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realised. I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC to say the least.”

By law, status as a “special government employee” means he could only serve for a maximum of 130 days, which would have ended around 30 May.

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Mohamed Soliman: Colorado attack suspect’s wife and children detained by immigration officials

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Mohamed Soliman: Colorado attack suspect's wife and children detained by immigration officials

The family of the man accused of throwing petrol bombs at a pro-Israel group in Colorado have been taken into custody.

Immigration officers detained Mohamed Soliman’s relatives, believed to be his wife and five children.

Soliman, an Egyptian national, moved to the US three years ago and lived in Colorado Springs but was there illegally after his visa and work authorisation expired. He reportedly has two teenage children and three younger children.

“We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it,” said homeland security secretary Kristi Noem on X.

Soliman, 45, is being held after Molotov cocktails were thrown at a group doing a walk for Israeli hostages in Boulder on Sunday.

The attacker allegedly yelled “Free Palestine” and had a total of 18 petrol bombs – but police said he “got scared” and only tossed a couple.

Soliman also had a makeshift flamethrower in the form of gas in a backpack sprayer, according to a FBI statement, but told investigators he did not use it.

Twelve people were injured, authorities said. The victims were aged between 52 and 88 and three of them were still being treated in hospital on Tuesday.

Police mugshot of suspect Mohamed Soliman. Pic: Boulder Police Dept.
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Mohamed Soliman appeared with a bandaged ear in a mugshot. Pic: Boulder Police Dept.

Soliman was allegedly dressed as a gardener to get as close as he could to the small group. Authorities said he told them he had no regrets.

He has been charged with a hate crime and 16 counts of attempted murder in federal and state cases.

Court papers said he planned the attack for a year and told authorities that no one, including his family, was aware of the plot.

Topless man being pinned down by police
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Video showed Soliman being arrested at the scene and an apparent burn mark on the ground

An FBI statement said Soliman left an iPhone hidden in a drawer at his home with messages for his family but that his wife handed it to police.

The family are said to be cooperating with investigators.

Soliman admitted taking gun training to try to get a permit but was denied as he wasn’t a US citizen, according to police and the FBI.

Barred from buying a firearm, he allegedly used YouTube to learn how to make petrol bombs.

Read more from Sky News:
Musk calls Trump-backed tax bill ‘disgusting abomination’
King Of The Hill actor shot dead

Armed law enforcement with a dog at the scene. Pic: AP
Image:
Law enforcement searched for bombs after the attack. Pic: AP

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Boulder attack was “aimed against peaceful people who wished to express their solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas, simply because they were Jews”.

The incident follows the arrest of a Chicago-born man in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington DC last month.

Tensions are simmering in the US over Israel’s war in Gaza.

There has been an increase in antisemitic hate crime, as well as moves by some supporters of Israel to brand pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic.

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