Under the conditions of the SAG-AFTRA strike, actors aren’t allowed to promote current projects online

Selena Gomez is seen filming

Selena Gomez is seen filming “Only Murders in the Building” in Queens on March 17, 2023 in New York City. Credit: Gotham/GC Images

Selena Gomez has deleted an Instagram post about Only Murders In The Building after being accused of breaking strike rules.

The singer and actor appears in the recently-released third season of the Hulu/Disney+ show alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short.

Earlier today (August 30), a post appeared on the singer’s official Instagram account which tagged the show’s official account. As part of SAG-AFTRA strike rules, members aren’t allowed to promote their work via interviews or social media posts.

The post has now ben deleted, and it hasn’t been confirmed whether the post in question constituted rule-breaking, but some online have accused the post of being “tone deaf” amid the ongoing strikes.

Only MurdersThe gang is back for ‘Only Murders In The Building’ season three. CREDIT: Disney

Following a break down in negotiations between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the US actors’ union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), the latter’s national board of directors voted unanimously on July 13 to join writers by going on strike.

It will mark the first time in more than 60 years that actors and writers have gone on strike simultaneously.

SAG-AFTRA – Hollywood’s largest union, which represents 160,000 actors and performers – and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are seeking an increase in base pay and residuals in the age of streaming, while other negotiations relate to safeguards against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in the industry.

The WGA strike, which began on May 2, occurred following unsuccessful negotiations with AMPTP, who represent major Hollywood studios like Netflix, Disney, Apple, Amazon, Paramount, Warner Bros. and others.

Since the writers’ strike was announced, a number of films and TV shows have shut down production in solidarity. You can find out which have been affected here.

Reviewing season three of Only Murders In The Building, NME wrote: “There’s ample meat on the bones of this mystery for our part-time gumshoes to hypothesise about – and enough for fans to form theories of their own too.

“In lesser hands, Only Murders… could have become just another statistic in the cosy crime boom; instead, we’re treated to a must-watch mystery romp.”