Entertainment

SAG-AFTRA's Halloween Costume Rules Are Super Annoying

The union wants you to throw your Barbie costume in the trash, scab.

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Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in "Barbie" | Warner Bros.
Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Barbie (Warner Bros.)

If you are planning to dress up as Barbie, the Flash, or Baby Yoda (his name is Grogu!) for Halloween this year, union bosses consider you a scab.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) released guidance earlier this week urging its members—and all those who stand in solidarity with them—to eschew character costumes that reference film and TV.

"This Halloween, we wanted to make sure our members don't inadvertently break strike rules, and have put together some quick tips on the dos and don'ts for costumes," said the union in a statement.

The union recommends generic costumes, like ghosts and vampires, rather than popular characters from current entertainment franchises like Marvel and Star Wars. Animated characters are OK, though; animators and voice actors are represented by a different union.

SAG-AFTRA initiated a strike earlier this year on July 14 due to concerns that studios were not properly compensating employees who make streaming content. Negotiations broke down on October 11 and have not yet resumed.

News of the costume restrictions has received mixed reactions. Actor Ryan Reynolds joked that he looked forward to screaming "scab" at his daughter.

Actress Mandy Moore chided SAG-AFTRA for wasting time on Halloween costumes and urged the union to "get back to the table and get a fair deal" in a post on Instagram.

"Is this a joke?" she wrote.

Given the huge success of the Barbie movie, it seems unlikely that SAG-AFTRA's fun-killing advice will have much of an impact on the costuming landscape. If anything, it seems like it might make otherwise sympathetic people slightly irritated with the union. (You can probably guess who I'm dressing up as for Halloween.)