HBO suspended David Simon’s 25-year-long agreement to write for the premium network as he joined striking Hollywood writers at the picket line, the creator of “The Wire” tweeted Monday.
Simon, a former reporter for The Sun who left the newspaper in 1995 to work full time for television, tweeted video of himself joining striking screenwriters, posting that he was “doing the write thing” when his deal to write for the network was suspended.
The 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America began the first Hollywood strike in 15 years Tuesday as their contract expired. They’re demanding higher minimum pay and more writers per show among other concessions.
President Joe Biden called for a “fair deal” for the screenwriters Tuesday in his first remarks on the strike, The Associated Press reported.
“We need the writers and all the workers and everyone involved to tell the stories of our nation and the stories of all of us,” the president said at a White House screening of the series “American Born Chinese” to mark Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
HBO did not respond immediately to a request to comment on the tweet posted by Simon.
Simon has worked on HBO projects such as “We Own This City,” “The Plot Against America” and “Show Me a Hero.”