Fran Drescher defends smiling ‘selfie’ with Kim Kardashian ahead of strike announcement: ‘It was absolute work’

nypost.com:

contract negotiations between thousands of actors and film studios crumbled.During a Thursday press conference announcing the official start of the first actor strike in decades, “The Nanny” star was asked about the bashing she received for taking a “selfie” with Kim Kardashian during a Dolce & Gabbana event. “That wasn’t a selfie,” Drescher said. “I’m a brand ambassador for a fashion company and so is Kim.

I had only met Kim seconds before that publicity picture was taken.”She added: “It had nothing to do with being at a party or having fun – it was absolute work … We work, that’s what we do.”Drescher said that despite being nine hours ahead of her SAG-AFTRA colleagues in Los Angeles who were working to reach an agreement Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), she kept in constant contact and even left the event early to attend a Zoom meeting with union negotiators.“And if I couldn’t get through to them because I was on a plane, I was texting with them constantly throughout the plane ride,” Drescher said.The union president fell under heavy criticism after a picture of herself and Kardashian smiling made its rounds on social media earlier this week.At the time the image was taken, AMPTP had extended the union’s contract by nearly two weeks, though no resolution was in sight and talks for a walkout were underway.“My union president chilling in Italy while we’re in the middle of negotiations and about to go on strike,” “Insidious: The Last Key” actor Kirk Acevedo tweeted Monday.“We’re asking to be better compensated by the studios and Fran Drescher is mugging for cameras in Italy.