Celebrities Sign Letter Opposing Cuts to Medicaid, SNAP: Full List
More than 30 prominent figures from the entertainment industry have signed an open letter urging Congress to reject deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid.
The letter, published by nonprofit organization Feeding America on June 25, described the proposals as "unacceptable and wrong" while warning that millions of Americans rely on these programs for basic food security and health care. It includes signatures from the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Matt Damon, and former One Direction star Zayn Malik.
Newsweek reached out to Feeding America for comment via its website outside of regular working hours.
The proposed reductions to SNAP and Medicaid form part of a Republican-led legislative package making its way through Congress, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
If enacted, these cuts could result in millions losing access to food assistance and health care, with an estimated 7.6 million at risk of losing Medicaid coverage and SNAP losing 9.5 billion meals per year.
Led by a diverse array of actors, musicians, and entertainment professionals, the open letter urges lawmakers to protect federal food aid and health care for the most vulnerable.
The letter reads: "Food is a beautiful way humans show care, compassion, and love... It's a fundamental part of the human experience and a basic right we all deserve."
The full list of signatories is as follows:
Adina PorterAlan CummingBianca LawsonChrishell StauseConnie BrittonDan BucatinskyDanai GuriraDanielle BrooksDaniella PinedaDavid ArquetteDon JohnsonKaren PittmanKelvin BeachumKristin ChenowethLana ParrillaLiev SchreiberLiza Colón-ZayasMatt DamonMichael ChiklisMichelle WilliamsMinka KellyNancy TravisPaul ScheerRon PopeRosario DawsonRyan EggoldSamantha HarrisScarlett JohanssonSheryl CrowZayn MalikZoey Deutch
The proposal introduces new work requirements of 80 hours per month for many adult recipients of Medicaid and SNAP, extending to individuals up to age 65. Parents with children over the age of 10 would need to work to remain eligible for food assistance, while those with teenage children would also be subject to the Medicaid work mandate.
It also proposes shifting some of the cost of SNAP benefits to state budgets, which many governors have warned is unaffordable.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Medicaid changes could cause up to 10.9 million Americans to lose coverage, and new SNAP rules could result in 4 million fewer people having access to food benefits.
The cuts are included as part of a larger effort to offset the costs of making President Donald Trump-era tax cuts permanent.
Congress is expected to vote on the package in the coming weeks, with a deadline set for July 4.
The Senate is expected to revise several parts of the legislation before holding a final vote. If any changes are approved, the bill will be sent back to the House for another vote.
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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Forget hot girl summer — Gen Z women instead want to stay at convents and monasteries with nuns: ‘Vow of silence summer is in'
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Politico
2 hours ago
- Politico
Can the GOP megabill hold together?
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Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) … Hanna Trudo … Ropes & Gray's Amish Shah … Laura Rozen … White House's Robin Colwell and Marie Policastro … Josh Meyer … CNN's Evan Pérez … Carl Forti … former Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) … Ben Jarrett … Hal Brewster of Freshfields … Christina Pearson … Don Verrilli of Munger, Tolles & Olson … Max Virkus … Christian Marrone of Standard Industries … Jordan Davis … Roku's Kaya Singleton … Katie Zirkelbach … Vijay Menon of Sen. Josh Hawley's (R-Mo.) office … Owen Kilmer … Kia's Christopher Wenk … Emily Spain … MSNBC's Kenny Reilly … Tony Salters … POLITICO's Caitlin Bugas Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Brad Pitt and ‘F1 The Movie' zoom to $55.6 million in Apple's biggest box office debut
The Brad Pitt-led racing film 'F1 The Movie' sped to the top of the box office this weekend, another in a string of big summer movies that Hollywood hopes will keep driving people to theaters. The big-budget film from 'Top Gun: Maverick' director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer hauled in $55.6 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates. That's better than analysts had expected for a non-sequel racing movie. People who read pre-release audience surveys had anticipated a debut of $40 million to $50 million. Powered by the global appeal of Formula One racing, the film took in an additional $88 million internationally. Still, with a reported budget of more than $200 million, not including marketing costs, 'F1' will still need significantly more ticket sales to break even. Only three Hollywood films so far this year have grossed more than $500 million globally — 'A Minecraft Movie,' 'Lilo & Stitch' and 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' — and each of those opened above 'F1.' Nonetheless, with 'F1,' the iPhone maker has its first box office hit. While Apple TV+ has found critical success with its shows, including 'Severance,' 'The Studio' and 'Your Friends & Neighbors' — and notched its first best picture Oscar win in 2022 with 'CODA' — its films had not yet clinched box office gold. Its previous star-studded and filmmaker-driven movies have struggled at theaters, including the 2024 spy comedy 'Argylle' and space-age romantic comedy 'Fly Me to the Moon,' starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum. 'F1' benefited from a heavily promoted Imax run, which help make it seem like a must-see on the big screen. Imax screens accounted for 23% of the domestic weekend revenue for 'F1,' the cinema technology provider said Sunday. Around 55% of domestic sales came from large screen formats including Imax, Dolby Cinema and motion seats. As usual, Apple worked with a major studio to handle the theatrical release. 'F1' is being distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, adding to the studio's winning streak that includes 'A Minecraft Movie,' 'Sinners' and 'Final Destination Bloodlines.' Quality also helped. 'It's emotional, it's exciting, it's got romance, it's got humor,' producer Jerry Bruckheimer told The Times earlier this month. 'It's the reason I got into this business — to make movies that thrill you on that big screen, that you walk out feeling you've been on a real journey and got lost for a couple of hours. That's the goal every time.' Strong reviews from audiences and critics bode well for the film's future grosses and its eventual performance on streaming for Apple. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the movie a grade of 'A,' while the movie holds a critics' score of 83% 'fresh' on Rotten Tomatoes. Not faring as well was Universal Pictures' murderous doll sequel 'M3GAN 2.0,' which debuted with a weak $10 million and landed in fourth place at the domestic box office, behind holdovers 'How to Train Your Dragon' and 'Elio.' The Blumhouse film was expected to open with around $20 million. It fell far short of the success of the original, which opened with $30 million in 2023 and eventually collected $180 million worldwide. Overall, though, it's been a strong last few months for the horror genre, starting with Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners,' which has now grossed $364 million worldwide, and followed by 'Final Destination Bloodlines' and zombie franchise revival '28 Years Later.' The staying power of movies like 'How to Train Your Dragon' and 'Lilo & Stitch' shows the continued draw of family-friendly films at the box office, which have been major winners since the spring. The exception has been Disney and Pixar's original animated movie 'Elio,' which notched Pixar's worst opening weekend ever last week. 'Elio' collected about $11 million Friday through Sunday, bringing its total to a poor $42 million in the U.S. and Canada for the $150-million animated picture. Times staff writer Josh Rottenberg contributed to this report
