Melissa Gilbert signs copies of her book "My Prairie Cookbook" at Barnes & Noble bookstore at The Grove on March 18, 2015

Melissa Gilbert, Ryan Reynolds Shade SAG-AFTRA for Halloween Costume Ban

SAG-AFTRA's Halloween costume guidelines are not sitting right with several stars. Melissa Gilbert and Ryan Reynolds are among the A-listers who have spoken out against them.

by Andrea Francese

Published on October 21, 2023

2 min read

SAG-AFTRA just found itself in hot water with its own union members over recently published Halloween costume guidelines. Earlier in the week, the union issued a statement on its official website asking members to avoid wearing popular Halloween costumes this year. The guild explained that dressing in the likeness of characters owned by studios like Disney and Netflix counts as free marketing. The guidelines essentially ban characters that are sure to be popular costumes this year, like Barbie, Harley Quinn, and Wednesday Addams. SAG-AFTRA also asked members to avoid posting Halloween pictures to social media if they include characters owned by struck employers. There was immediate backlash to the guidelines, and now A-listers are speaking out against them.

Former SAG president Melissa Gilbert lambasts the union for Halloween costume crackdown

Melissa Gilbert, who was once SAG president, is unwilling to support the union’s call to ban Halloween. The Little House on the Prairie star took to Instagram to discuss the ban, proclaiming that it is more than a bit over the top. In a post in which she tagged SAG-AFTRA, Gilbert called the ban on Halloween costumes that depict popular TV and movie characters “infantile.”

Gilbert went on to point out that no one cares what people dress as for Halloween and that the guild should busy themselves with negotiations instead of costume bans. Gilbert is not alone in her feelings. While her thoughts were particularly scathing, several other stars have stepped forward to call out the unions for such a ridiculous proclamation. Mandy Moore and Ryan Reynolds have both made similar comments.

Ryan Reynolds and Mandy Moore both issued statements on social media, too

Melissa Gilbert isn’t the only star looking to publicly shame SAG-AFTRA for its Halloween guidelines. Mandy Moore and Ryan Reynolds responded to the guidelines as soon as the guild dropped them in a blog post earlier in the week. Moore called out the union, suggesting that the policies were crazy and hardly conducive to future negotiations between the union, production companies, and studios.

Ryan Reynolds appears at a 'Deadpool' event in 2016 — Ryan Reynolds | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Reynolds took to Twitter with a far more sarcastic response. The famed actor seemed to take issue with a section of the guidelines suggesting union members should avoid sharing any photos that include characters owned by struck employers, even if the union member isn’t wearing it. Reynolds pointed out that the guideline applies to children, too. He joked that he was looking forward to calling his 8-year-old child a “scab” during their planned Halloween festivities to point out the ridiculousness of the guidelines. There is no word on what Reynolds’ kids with Blake Lively are planning to be for Halloween 2023. Reynolds’ most popular characters are included in the ban.