Equity joins the Springer fight
The actors’ union Equity has entered the Springer DVD fray. The recently-elected first-ever female General Secretary, Christine Payne, has issued the following statement:
Equity is opposed to the action which Woolworths and Sainsbury’s have taken on two grounds. Firstly, Equity strongly supports artistic freedom and equally strong opposes censorship in all its forms, however offended any individual may feel themselves to be by a particular piece of dramatic art.
Secondly, Equity members derive income from the sales of recorded material, including DVDs, and so stand to lose income from actions such as these.
Equity is inviting all of its members to make their views known to Sainsbury’s and Woolworths about these acts of censorship.
(From comments at bloggerheads)
UPDATE: The BBC report on this says that Equity has received about 200 emails in support of its protest from actors including Rowan Atkinson and Miriam Margoyles.
The Beeb are covering this one too: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4514748.stm
I notice two things. Both places are now trying to dig themselves out of a hole and pretend they’ve done this for commercial reasons.
Also, hilariously the Beeb seem to have been fobbed off with the same e-mail from Woolies we’ve all been getting!
Big up to Equity and all those protesting against Woolies and Sainsbury.
Incidently I wonder what John Beyer thinks of all this. Surely not even he would advocate a store banning a DVD just because relegious types object. Hmmm!
I’m not sure who is distributing the DVD, but what would really be interesting if they protested too, maybe by withdrawing ALL their DVDs from the two shops!
Im not sure Fox would want to do that!
“Incidently I wonder what John Beyer thinks of all this.”
Do you think we should care ?
Does it matter what the old cheese thinks ?
I really don’t know why everyone asks him.
It’s about time our papers stood up for free expression instead of fawing to Beyer. I reckon they would if they were suddenly subject to censorship…