SAG-AFTRA Releases ‘Time to Get Real’ Disability Advocate Video Series

SAG-AFTRA has produced three advocacy videos highlighting the challenges disabled actors face in pursuing and auditioning for jobs in the entertainment industry. The videos were produced as part of the union’s ‘Inclusion: Time to Get Real’ campaign, launched in conjunction with National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

The goal is to demonstrate how people with disabilities are underrepresented in TV and film, and when they appear on screen, they are often misrepresented. According to a Nielsen study, people with disabilities accounted for 8.8% of screen time in 2022, while people with visible disabilities accounted for only 0.4%.

“People with disabilities are America’s largest minority, representing nearly 26 percent of the U.S. population. Yet disabled performers do not receive equal opportunities in entertainment and media and remain among the least represented in the industry,” said Christine Bruno, chair of the National Performers with Disabilities Committee, which spearheaded the campaign.

“National Disability Employment Awareness Month not only celebrates the work of artists with disabilities, it is also an opportunity to draw attention to inaccurate, inauthentic representations of disability and the lived experience of disability,” Bruno said. “Most importantly, it is a call to action for the industry to commit to making the changes necessary to ensure disabled artists are authentically represented as an integral part of the American scene.”

The videos are:

“True Cringe” featuring Michelle Hurd of “Anyone But You,” Jason T. Gaffney, Michale Bunin and Khristina LaMonte, with audio description by Jack Patterson of “Criminal Minds”

“What can’t I do?” starring Jason George of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Angel Giuffria and Brian Dietzen, with audio description by Nicole Cyrille of “Grey’s Anatomy”

“You Are So Brave” with Jeri Ryan, Toni Nelli, Sarah Anne Masse and Diana Elizabeth Jordan, with Danny Gomez, Sam Lazarus, Skyler Davenport, Evelyn Stokes, Dr. Cynthia Lea Clark and Nicole Cyrille, with audio description by Cyrille.

“The Performers with Disabilities Committee has done a phenomenal job creating several short films that address vital issues within the entertainment industry. SAG-AFTRA is committed to amplifying the needs of artists and other workers with disabilities, not only during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, but always,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of SAG-AFTRA.