Dwayne Johnson Makes ‘Historic’ Donation to SAG-AFTRA Foundation Relief Fund

When people are in crisis, people step up. 

On July 13, the SAG-AFTRA leadership declared the union was going on strike. SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance and executive director Cyd Wilson sent a letter to 2,700 of the union’s highest-earning actors outlining the financial need that many would face in the work stoppage.

“Having been through this during COVID and having such a great response from our own membership to take care of their own, when the strike was decided, Courtney and I sat down with our team and said, ‘Here we go again,'” Wilson tells Variety.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation (a non-profit organization associated with the union, but not part of it) worked to provide financial relief to many of the union’s 160,000 members via the foundation’s Emergency Financial Assistance Program, which will again be used to help actors during the strike.

“We rely on donations and grants to provide services — we have been very fortunate that we raised enough money to be able to cover all of our programs,” Wilson explains.

“But when we hit a crisis like this and we’re going to spend millions and millions of dollars in financial assistance, this is when we need our high profile talent who can afford it, who are in a situation to help others.”

Shortly after sending the letter, Dwayne Johnson’s team reached out to say he wanted to help, so he and Vance hopped on a phone call.

“It was a love fest. It’s like, ‘Man, you’re stepping up in a way that is allowing others to know the dire necessity of it,'” Vance told Johnson about his contribution to the fund.

He noted that the exact sum is being kept confidential, but he was heartened by the A-lister’s generosity. 

“This is him saying, ‘In such a time as this, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, whatever you need me to do.’ And that sends a huge message to other folks to do the same thing.”

Wilson explains that the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s grants deliver up to $1,500 per individual member, but in extreme conditions where there are health issues or other situations that indicate an actor is in serious jeopardy, a lifetime member can receive up to $6,000 in emergency financial assistance. 

Johnson’s seven-figure donation has the potential to aid thousands of actors. Wilson estimates between 7,000 to 10,000 members will need these services.

“It is a call to arms for all of us to know that we just have to step up however you can,” Vance adds. 

“If your step up is $10, step up. Because that $10 is going to help somebody. If it’s $10,000, if it’s $10 million, step up, because we have to. Everyone knows what happens when you go on strike, when you stand for something — as the saying goes, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything — you can’t stand unless you have support underneath you, on the side, up top and up front. So Dwayne is letting everyone know, ‘I’m here. What are you going to do?'”.

"I want to thank Dwayne for his tremendous generosity, compassion, and initiative to step up in this significant and meaningful way for our community. On behalf of the thousands who will be helped by his historic donation, thank you, thank you, thank you,".