Tampa man who is neither stands with fellow striking actors and writers

Chad Hamler of Tampa has taken a very outspoken stance on every social media platform he can find in support of the striking Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).

“I stand in solidarity with my oppressed WGA and SAG-AFTRA brothers and sisters Steven Spielburg, Ryan Reynilds and Angela Baset”

Chad Hamler on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Post, Truth Social, Threads and Spill

This in spite of the fact that not only is he not a member of either organization, but he’s not even eligible to join, due to the fact that he’s not a writer or actor.

“What, it’s not okay to show support for a movement I believe in?” he asked, from his seat at a cafe in Tampa Heights.

When told that sure, that’s fine, but the way he words his posts, it seems like he’s implying that he works with Spielberg, Pitt and Bassett or even knows them.

“Well, no, not actually personally. But I feel as a fellow creative, that I kind of have kinship with them,” he replied.

Asked what he’s created, he said, “I bring my laptop in here every day and work on my screenplay. Since I got laid off at Best Buy, I have more time on my hands to devote to developing that. Of course, I’d want to direct but I figure the big studios probably wouldn’t give me a fair shot at that so that’s holding me back. In addition to that, I’m good-looking; I’ve been told on numerous occasions that if I ever auditioned for something I’d have a chance of getting cast. So it’s pretty obvious that I’m right there, living that creative life.”

Linda, a barista at the cafe said, “That first part is true; he is in here every day. As far as what he’s working on, as far as I can tell it must be a screenplay about watching YouTube videos because that’s all he does.”

Given a chance to expound on exactly what he, as a creative person, sees as the biggest grievance with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studio bosses, he paused a long time before saying, “It’s the corporations, man. These corporate types just don’t get us, you know? They’re so corporate. Fucking corporations.”