Studios cut trees that shaded Hollywood strikers amid brutal heatwave

nypost.com:

Chris Stephens took to Twitter on Monday to express his disappointment over the studio’s decision to prune the plants in the middle of their demonstration.“Quick shoutout to the good people at @UniversalPics for trimming the trees that gave our picket line shade right before a 90+ degree week,” Stephens sarcastically penned.Alongside the tweet, the entertainer shared a photo of the trees looking bare and leaf-less.The ongoing writer’s strike began on May 2 and workers were joined by the actors’ union SAG–AFTRA on July 14.The viral post garnered angry — but also some hilarious — responses from his followers regarding Universal’s act of arboreal aggression.“That’s so shady,” one quipped.Quick shoutout to the good people at @UniversalPics for trimming the trees that gave our picket line shade right before a 90+ degree week.

pic.twitter.com/aZvvPYQ23i“Whoever ‘trimmed’ those trees may have just killed a bunch of trees on city property, that weren’t theirs to trim.

Get ready for a fine and sanctions,” someone chimed in.“Nobody prunes in July,” another claimed.One critic ruminated: “The starvation of the trees is about as symbolic as it gets.

They’re sending a message. Question is, who’s listening?”A few others evoked California’s “tree law” and accused the studios of breaching a measure aimed at keeping streets beautiful.In a statement to The Post, a spokesperson for NBCUniversal claimed the tree work is simply an annual ritual at this time of year. “We understand that the safety tree trimming of the Ficus trees we did on Barham Blvd.