Dwayne Johnson makes generous donation to SAG-AFTRA Foundation Relief Fund amid strike

As SAG-AFTRA leadership declared on July 13 that the actors' union was going on strike, its foundation president Courtney B. Vance and executive director Cyd Wilson drafted a letter to 2,700 of the highest-earning actors calling for financial aid. They said many actors would face financial troubles due to the pause on work. Shortly after the letter went out to all the A-listers in Hollywood, actor Dwayne Johnson’s team reached out and The Rock said that he wanted to help.

Speaking to Variety, Wilson said, “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. 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.”

About The Rock's help, Vance revealed, “This is him saying, ‘In such a time as this, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, whatever you need me to do.’ And that sends a huge message to other folks to do the same thing.”

Vance didn’t reveal the exact sum but hinted that it’s a generous donation that has the potential to aid thousands of actors. 

SAG-AFTRA can help and has done so in the past too, particularly in the COVID-19 time but it wouldn’t be enough for the organisation to sustain all expenditures. In such a case, The Rock’s sizable donation will help them in these efforts. 

Dwayne Johnson's is the largest single donation to striking actors

On how they reacted when they got to know of Dwayne’s donation, Wilson told Variety, “ It’s the largest single donation that we’ve ever received from one individual at one time. And what is amazing is that that one check is going to help thousands of actors keep food on their table, and keep their kids safe, and keep their cars running. And it’s not lost on me that he’s very humble about this, but it is a way to get us started.”

“This is how we did this during COVID — some of the biggest stars in our industry stepped up. For him to step up like this is really going to get us started in the fundraising that we’re going to do, because everything we’re hearing and seeing, we feel we have to be prepared that this could go on through the end of the year. We’re going to have to be able to help these people in the long run. We have 160,000 SAG-AFTRA performers and that’s a lot of people that are going to need our help. This donation is the kickstart we needed in the first week of what we think will be a long haul.”

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