According to Variety, Dwayne Johnson has made a hefty seven-figure donation to the SAG-AFTRA Relief Fund. The donation came after a plea was sent out to nearly 2,700 highest-paid members of the guild to help balance the financial hardships resulting due to the ongoing actors’ strike. The union currently has over 160,000 actors and many of them are struggling to make ends meet, an issue that has received more attention in recent times, thanks to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
The exact amount donated by Johnson has not been revealed yet.
SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s executive director Cyd Wilson and president Courtney B. Vance sent a plea to the union’s highest-paid actors highlighting the financial requirement that other actors would face during the work stoppage.
“We rely on donations and grants to provide services — we have been very fortunate that we raised enough money to be able to cover all of our programs,” Wilson revealed. “But when we hit a crisis like this and we’re going to spend millions and millions of dollars in financial assistance, this is when we need our high profile talent who can afford it, who are in a situation to help others.”
Shortly after sending the plea, Dwayne Johnson’s team contacted Vance to help the union.
Wilson also disclosed that every actor can receive up to $1,500 from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s grants. This amount can go up to $6,000 when an actor faces a serious health issue or other significant issues.
On July 13, the leaders of the SAG-AFTRA declared that the union was going on strike. Stay tuned for more updates.