Social Media Campaign Shows Actors Struggling to Qualify For Insurance

Key Points:

• Actor Cheyenne Jackson launched the "One Job Away" movement on Instagram to highlight performers who are just short of meeting SAG-AFTRA’s $28,000 annual earnings threshold needed to qualify for health insurance, receiving hundreds of responses within 24 hours.
• The initiative aims to connect actors in need with casting directors and industry figures who can offer them gigs, inspired by Jackson's own experience of narrowly qualifying for insurance in 2025 with help from Kathy Bates.
• Industry consolidation, fewer scripted TV series, rising healthcare costs, and the aftermath of recent strikes and natural disasters have created a challenging environment for actors to maintain steady work and health coverage.
• Actors like Bayne Gibby express frustration over the lack of improvement post-strike, financial instability, and the stigma around openly discussing the need for more work to secure insurance eligibility.
• The campaign has garnered support from prominent actors like Sarah Paulson and Jamie Lee Curtis, aiming to reduce stigma and encourage vulnerability among performers facing these systemic challenges.