Ever since the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike three months ago, soon to be joined by SAG (the Screen Actors Guild), the place to be in L.A. hasn’t been Little Dom’s or the chic nightclub du jour. Instead, it’s been the picket lines, which are attracting a plethora of celebrities and supporters alike—and are, quite literally, the hottest spot in town (especially given the ongoing heat waves.)
Actor, writer, and podcast host Busy Philipps has been a regular fixture at the picket lines since the strike was first announced, and recently, Vogue caught up with her to talk about why she’s striking, bonding over skincare with her teenage daughter Birdie, and the makeup and skincare that are keeping her hydrated and sun-safe while she takes a stand alongside her colleagues.
**Vogue: **Can you tell me a little bit about what the mood has been like on the picket lines since the strike was announced?
Busy Phillips: I think the general vibe both in L.A. and New York has been that everyone is showing up, whether they’re staff writers or actors who have only worked a couple of times in the last few years, or actors who are series regulars on TV shows, or huge screenwriters or showrunners. I was picketing with someone I knew as a dad from my kids’ school, but apparently he runs Law Order? I’m not great with that kind of stuff in Hollywood; I don’t really know who people are, I’m guilty of that. I’ve participated in some auctions to help the Entertainment Community Fund and the fund for IATSE health care, and I think that’s really important because this is a workers’ fight; to make it anything other than that devalues all workers.
Why is it so important to you to be supporting the strike?
I’m a huge believer in unions; I come from a long line of union folk, although they were pipefitters and plumbers, not in the entertainment industry. As technology continues to evolve and change, it’s clear that the onus is on the people that make it all go—i.e. the workers—to band together and be able to stand for what’s fair and what’s right. A working living wage, health care, being paid for the work that you’ve done, being compensated in a way that reflects the amount of money that the that the thing is bringing in... all of these things seem like no-brainers, but, you know. [Laughs.]
You talk in your memoir about being on the picket lines during the 2007 writers’ strike. What kind of changes have you seen in the industry since then?
My kids’ dad, my ex-husband Mark, has been in the WGA for close to 25 years, and I’ve seen what s happened not just in terms of how streaming services have affected his income and residual payments, but also my own. It’s pretty staggering. Basically, it’s just a loophole that these companies came up with in order to not pay us the money that they had agreed to pay us, right? So in a way, the narrative that we’re even asking for more money is insane. We’re just asking for money that we’re owed for work that we’ve done, and that money makes a huge difference. I have friends who have been on huge television shows on streaming services who lost their health care during the pandemic because they weren’t working and they didn’t have any residual money coming in. I went through a rough period of time when I had my own first daughter, Birdie, and were it not for the residual payments that I was getting from cable and DVD for the projects that I had done before, I would have lost my health care. Those residual payments kept me afloat and allowed me to keep my health care.
Now, onto the beauty of it all: What products are you turning to for those crazy days of picket-line heat and sweat?
Well, I’m a fan of Supergoop sunscreen. I like that one the best for my face. I also love this IT Cosmetics CC Cream with SPF 50+; it’s not the full-coverage one, it’s more sheer with a little bit of tint to it, so I’ll put on sunscreen and then I use that cream. I also have a mini-Supergoop bottle that I keep in my fanny pack, that I’ll reapply throughout the day. I was introduced to Thrive mascara because they advertised on my podcast, but I am a person who has always had really long eyelashes naturally, and I always get mascara under my eyes or on my brow. I started using this Liquid Lash Extensions mascara from Thrive that’s such a game changer, because it stays on no matter how much you sweat or how many times you cry in a day, if you’re me.
You posted about bringing Birdie to the picket lines. Does she currently have any hero makeup or skincare products she’s loving?
I mean, Birdie has so many products right now. We’re currently trying to just pare down what she’s going to bring to boarding school. We have an entire suitcase full of products, and that’s basically all we have packed. Birdie is my little product doppelgänger, and she takes really good care of her skin; she’s very up on the latest products, and she loves Glossier.
