Hollywood Heroes: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Offered to Pay Jimmy Kimmel’s Staffers Amid Ongoing Writers Strike
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are the best friend duo everyone needs in their lives!
The A-List actors kindly reached out to their lifelong pal Jimmy Kimmel, offering to pay his staffers one week of their salary in the midst of ongoing writers strikes in Hollywood.
During the debut episode of "Strike Force Five," a new podcast featuring the Jimmy Kimmel Live star and fellow late night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver, Kimmel mentioned the selfless act Affleck and Damon tried to complete for those in the industry who haven't been able to work since April.
Kimmel admittedly declined the Good Will Hunting costars' offer, as he didn't feel it was their job to provide his employees with a paycheck.
"I felt that that was not their responsibility," the 55-year-old explained to his fellow talk show stars.
Damon, 52, and Affleck, 51, aren't the only Hollywood actors attempting to help the Writers Guild of America — an organization representing 11,500 screenwriters that began striking on Tuesday, May 2, due to an unresolved labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
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Kimmel revealed Ryan Reynolds, 46, also tried to help relieve the late night talk show's writers burdened finances by offering free Mint Mobile services for an entire year for the staffers who have been out of work for months.
The Deadpool star's mobile network operator company notably co-sponsors the Spotify podcast alongside Diageo, a beverage company representing Aviation American Gin, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, Casamigos and Ketel One Vodka.
Aside from their podcast's main focus being the ongoing writers strikes, the famed talk show stars have all worked effortlessly since the start of the protests to do the best they can at showing support and making sure their employees received some sort of pay during the months-long ordeal.
Just days after the strike started, Fallon, 48, and Meyers, 49, made a deal with NBC ensuring their staffers received partial pay for the first three weeks their talk shows went dark.
The network agreed to pay two weeks salary to each of their staffers, with Fallon and Meyers paying the third week out of pocket. After the three-week pay ran its course, their employers were put on unpaid leave, according to a tweet posted by Sarah Kobos, The Tonight Show's research coordinator.