The star of “The Studio” called out the Writers Guild of America West for canceling its own awards ceremony amid a labor dispute.

Seth Rogen takes pointed swipe at Writers Guild Awards during Actor Awards speech: ‘Take notes, WGA’

The star of "The Studio" called out the Writers Guild of America West for canceling its own awards ceremony amid a labor dispute.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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March 1, 2026 10:41 p.m. ET

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Seth Rogen at the 2026 Actor Awards. Credit:

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Seth Rogen was quite happy to win the first of his pair of Actor Awards on Sunday. But he took the opportunity to express his unhappiness with another awards show.

Accepting the prize for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on *The Studio*, Rogen couldn't help but swipe at the Writers Guild of America West for canceling its own awards ceremony amid a union dispute.

"Wow, what an honor, what an award — this is a great awards show!" Rogen exclaimed on stage. "They got food and drinks and s‑‑‑, this is incredible. It's not 100 million degrees in here, wonderful! You were able to pay your own employees enough to keep the awards show from being canceled — take notes, WGA."

That last barb drew a mixture of laughs and startled "oohs" from the audience.

Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen at the 2026 Actor Awards.

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

** has reached out to the the Writers Guild of America West for comment on Rogen's remarks.

Ike Barinholtz, whom Rogen was nominated against in the Actor Awards category for his work on the same series, could be seen on Netflix's livestream expressing giddy shock to his wife, Erica Hanson, over Rogen's comments.

Rogen then looped Barinholtz into his jokey acceptance speech, noting, "I hoped my ego was strong enough to withstand losing to Ike. I'm glad I don't have to find out. I would have been meaner to you at work no matter what. It would have created a weird dynamic on set."

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Rogen's spicy callout targeted the Writers Guild of America West's announcement hours earlier that it would be scrapping the 2026 edition of the Writers Guild Awards Los Angeles as the WGAW staff union is on strike.

In January, 115 members of the Writers Guild Staff Union walked out after authorizing a strike, citing unfair labor practices, weak AI protections, and the need for pay increases.

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Writers Guild of America West President Michele Mulroney explained in the organization's announcement of the cancellation that "as a labor union, we would not ask our guests to cross a picket line to attend the awards show."

In response, the guild's union wrote in a social media post Sunday, "We are saddened by the cancellation of the Writers Guild Los Angeles ceremony, an event many of us take great pride in producing each year. We hope that guild management returns to the table and bargains in good faith so that future disruptions to guild members can be avoided."

The Writers Guild of America East's awards show is still slated to take place March 8 in New York.

As the co-creator and writer of *The Studio*, Rogen was earlier announced as a nominee in three categories at the 2026 Writers Guild Awards: for Comedy Series, New Series, and Episodic Comedy for the episode "The Promotion."

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