Jennifer Coolidge voiced her support for the writers' strike as she accepted the Comedic Genius Award at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday night.

During her speech, The White Lotus star declared that she was standing "side-by-side" with the writers who are striking for the first time in 15 years over their pay in the current streaming era.

"Almost all great comedy starts with great writers, and as a proud member of SAG (Screen Actors Guild), I stand here before you tonight side-by-side with my sisters and brothers from the WGA (Writers Guild of America) that are fighting for the rights of artists everywhere," she stated. "I think of the words of Shakespeare where he once said, 'The play is the thing.' Well, I don't want to put words in his mouth or anything, but I think what he really meant was it's everything."

Coolidge ended her speech in a comedic fashion by dancing with her golden popcorn award to Jump Around by House of Pain.

She wasn't the only celebrity to mention the strike during the virtual, pre-recorded show. According to Variety, Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn said, "Being a writer is a hard job and it deserves respect," as he accepted the Breakthrough Performance prize.

Meanwhile, when Pedro Pascal accepted Best Show for The Last of Us, he shared that the creative team is "standing in solidarity with the WGA, that is fighting very hard for fair wages".

The annual awards show was originally supposed to air live from California but it became a pre-recorded special after host Drew Barrymore and other guests pulled out to stand in solidarity with the writers, who went on strike on 2 May.