Snoop Dogg cancels hotly-anticipated 30th anniversary concerts at Hollywood Bowl due to actors’ strike

Snoop Dogg has cancelled his forthcoming concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The ‘Gin and Juice’ rapper, 51, was scheduled to perform two nights at the iconic venue to mark the 30th anniversary of his debut, 1993 album Doggystyle . In a statement posted on social media, Snoop Dogg (real name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr) wrote: ‘We regret to inform you that due to the ongoing strike and the uncertainty of when this will be over, we need to cancel the Hollywood Bowl show. ‘We continue to stand in solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters in the WGA and SAG/AFTRA during this difficult time and remain hopeful that the AMPTP will come back to the negotiating table with a REAL proposal and we can all get back to work.’ According to the Hollywood Bowl website, customers who purchased tickets will automatically receive refunds credited to their original payment method. The shows, produced by Dr Dre, were originally scheduled for late June, but were pushed back to 20-21 October when the TV and film writers’ union went on strike. Snoop Dogg said at the time that he and Dre ‘stand in solidarity with the writers’. The actors’ union later followed suit, ordering a strike action on 14 July, effectively grinding Hollywood to a halt. Among a number of concerns, both unions are fighting for an increase in residuals in the streaming era – compensation paid each time a TV show or movie is played. Speaking at a panel in May, Snoop Dogg compared writers’ gripes with residuals to artists’ frustrations over music streaming platforms. ‘I don’t understand how the f*** you get paid off of that shit. Somebody explain to me how you can get a billion streams and not get a million dollars?… That’s the main gripe with a lot of us artists is that we do major numbers… but it don’t add up to the money. Like, where the f*** is the money?’ Numerous A-listers joined a SAG-AFTRA rally in New York City on Tuesday (25 July), including Jessica Chastain, Brendan Fraser and Bryan Cranston. Breaking Bad star Cranston gave a rousing speech to the protestors, which took aim at Disney CEO Bob Iger. Iger had previously made disparaging comments about the combined industry strikes. Zack Arnold, the editor and associate producer of Netflix’s Cobra Kai , told The Independent that the strike was caused by a ‘perfect storm’ of streaming dominance, which has led to the erosion of residual pay, and the advent of AI in the industry.