Kamala Harris Delays MTV Mental Health Event Due to Writers Strike
MTV has confirmed that Vice President Kamala Harris has postponed a town hall event that was scheduled to take place next week. The event, organized by MTV, aimed to raise awareness of Mental Health Action Day on May 18 at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, California.
The spokesperson for the vice president issued a statement saying that “MTV’s Mental Health Action Day Conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris has been postponed.” Sources indicate that Harris postponed her appearance in solidarity with striking writers, as her participation would have been seen as crossing the picket line.
President Joe Biden recently expressed his hope that the labor dispute between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers would soon be resolved. Harris, who is the chair of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, was due to attend the event in California, which would have been her first public engagement in her home state since Biden announced his candidacy for re-election.
This is the second MTV event to be impacted by the writers strike; the recent MTV Movie & TV Awards were pre-taped at the last minute, as several celebrities and host Drew Barrymore dropped out in solidarity with the stoppage.