Wil Wheaton claims his parents stole childhood earnings: ‘My Star Trek residuals were all I had’

nypost.com:

thousands of actors and entertainers striking in Hollywood and around the country with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for the first time in over six decades.Sharing an Instagram snap from the SAG-AFTRA picket line in Los Angeles alongside actress Cheryl Gates McFadden, Wheaton wrote, “In 1960, SAG and WGA struck to force management to adapt to the new technology of television.

Without that strike and the agreement it birthed, residual use payments would not exist.”“My parents stole nearly all of my salary from my entire childhood,” he continued. “My Star Trek residuals were all I had, and they kept me afloat for two decades while I rebuilt my life.”“I have healthcare and a pension because of my union.

The AMPTP billionaires want to take all that security away so they can give CEOs even more grotesque wealth at the expense of the people who make our industry run.”Wheaton went on, “To give some sense of what is at stake: There are actors who star in massively successful, profitable, critically acclaimed shows that are all on streaming services.

You see them all the time. They are famous, A-list celebrities.”The actor noted that “nearly all” of those performers “don’t earn enough to qualify for health insurance.”“The studios forced them to accept a buyout for all their residuals (decade of reuse, at the least) that is less than I earned for one week on TNG.