AOC, George R.R. Martin, ‘Sesame Street’ + More!

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ JOINS SAG-AFTRA PICKET LINE: Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined actors and writers on the SAG-AFTRA and WGA picket lines in New York City on Monday morning (July 24th). According to Deadline, AOC told the crowd, “Frankly, while this is a fight against AI, more than AI, this is a fight against greed. This is a fight against Wall Street, and this is a fight against the endless pursuit of more wealth. How many private jets does David Zaslav need?” Zaslav is the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.

GEORGE R.R. MARTIN SAYS JOINT SAG-AFTRA AND WGA STRIKE IS THE ‘MOST IMPORTANT’ OF HIS LIFETIME: Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin addressed the joint SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike in his latest blog post, published on Saturday (July 22nd). “I joined the WGA in 1986 and have been through several strikes with them. We made gains in all of them, but some issues are more important than others… and this year’s strike is the most important of my lifetime. An unnamed producer was quoted last week saying the AMPTP strategy was to stand fast until the writers started losing their homes and apartments, which gives you a hint of what we’re facing,” he wrote. “No one can be certain where we go from here, but I have a bad feeling that this strike will be long and bitter.” He added that his “overall deal with HBO was suspended on June 1,” but he still has “plenty to do” and is “one of the lucky ones.”

‘SESAME STREET’ RESPONDS TO TWITTER REBRAND: According to Deadline, Twitter is abuzz about Elon Musk‘s plan to rebrand the social media platform as “X”. The official account for Sesame Street weighed in on the matter on Monday (July 24th), sharing a still from the show that features the letter X on a podium in front of a microphone. “The letter X will be holding a press conference later today. #TwitterX,” the caption reads.

SEASON TWO OF ‘STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS’ WILL FEATURE A MUSICAL EPISODE: Entertainment Tonight reports that the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will feature a musical episode. Paramount+ dropped a teaser trailer over the weekend to give fans a glimpse at the USS Enterprise crew singing and dancing. The episode, titled “Subspace Rhapsody” will be released on the streaming platform on August 3rd.