Inevitable Foundation President Says Disabled Writers Are Resilient Amid SAG-AFTRA Strike Despite Facing ‘Ticking Time-Bomb’ of Losses
variety.comPaul Plunkett The entertainment industry can be brutal and punishing even during the best of times, let alone amid disruptive WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
But it’s even tougher for those with disabilities.While there have been highly publicized donations to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation from superstars such as Dwayne Johnson, Oprah Winfrey and other A-listers to help their fellow union members through this challenging time, philanthropic organizations such as the Inevitable Foundation, launched in 2021, have stepped up while keeping their focus on their mission, helping writers with disabilities. “The higher up you get up in the industry, the less representation there is offscreen,” says Richie Siegel, the organization’s co-founder and president, noting that America’s largest minority group, the disabled, is the least visible. “We said if you really want to solve this problem, you have to start with the storytellers.
You have to start with the writers.” Prior to the strikes, the Inevitable Foundation worked to help writers with disabilities with direct grants as well as with mentoring opportunities from established writers already working in the industry. “I feel like a lot of organic mentoring happens within the organization itself between writers,” says the Inevitable Foundation’s co-founder and head of writing programs, Marisa Torelli-Pedevska.
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