Drew Barrymore Won’t Host MTV Movie & TV Awards in Solidarity With Hollywood Writers Strike

Just before before the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, the show need a new host. Drew Barrymore was originally booked to lead the awards ceremony, scheduled to air live from Los Angeles’ Barker Hangar on May 7, but has backed out in support and solidarity with the striking Writers Guild of America members.

“I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,” Barrymore shared in a statement. “Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation. And until a solution is reached, I am choosing to wait but I’ll be watching from home and hope you will join me.”

With only three days to go, MTV decided not to search for a last-minute replacement for Barrymore. The ceremony will now air without a host. “The silver lining in all of this is that we really formed a partnership almost a family-like atmosphere. So we see this as a shift in direction, but also a pause for the initial plan, which we’ve all agreed and she’s accepted to continue as our host in 2024,” said Bruce Gillmer, the president of music, music talent, programming and events at Paramount Global, who serves as an executive producer of the MTV Movie & TV Awards.

“I thank MTV, who has truly been some of the best partners I have ever worked with,” Barrymore added. “And I can’t wait to be a part of this next year, when I can truly celebrate everything that MTV has created, which is a show that allows fans to choose who the awards go to and is truly inclusive.​”

The actresses pre-filmed segments will likely still air during the ceremony on Sunday, but the network is currently uncertain about who will actually show up in-person, host or otherwise. The red carpet planned for before the show has been scrapped, as well as interviews with guests and nominees prior to the broadcast.

“The exclusive sneak peeks of the big films that are to be released. We still have a live performance. We still have the award sequences, although those are the elements that are very unpredictable — because clearly we don’t know which talent will feel comfortable. A lot of them won’t,” Gillmer explained. “But we have a plan, since the award show is fan-voted, we want to honor the fans’ participation and also honor the talent that earn these awards. So we’ll be giving the awards away. We’re working on a plan on how to do that without the traditional presentation involved, should the talent or some of the talent not show.”

Gillmer added, “We’ve got backups to our backups. And we’re planning on keeping as many of the signature elements of the show intact. We will have a live audience and it will still be a live event. Different, with more pre-taped packages and so forth, which are scalable, but it’ll still have that live event feel.”