The CEO of Warner Bros. booed by Boston University grads during his commencement speech : NPR

The CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav stands onstage during his presentation before delivering a commencement address at Boston University, Sunday, May 21, 2023, in Boston.

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Steven Senne/AP

The CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav stands onstage during his presentation before delivering a commencement address at Boston University, Sunday, May 21, 2023, in Boston.

Steven Senne/AP

Boston University students chanted “pay your writers” as the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav delivered the commencement address at the institution’s graduation on Sunday, amid a writers’ strike that has impacted the TV and film industry.

Zaslav graduated from BU Law School in 1985 and received an honorary degree. On Sunday, he told students how important it is to be respectful and kind. But he stopped several times as some students booed, chanted and turned their backs.

Before the program began, about 200 people demonstrated outside Nickerson Field, the graduation venue, holding signs reading “Protect Residuals Not CEOs” and “Private Jets But No Fair Wages”. UB today reported.

The school received a backlash earlier this month when a day after the Writers Guild of America went on strike May 2, it announced its decision to have Zaslav as its first speaker.

This is the union’s first strike in 15 years, as it could not reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studios, such as Discovery-Warner, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Paramount, Sony and NBC Universal. Writers are advocating for better pay, improved residuals from streaming, and guidelines on how artificial intelligence could affect writers’ rooms.

“The picket is in no way intended to prevent students, families or faculty from attending the graduation ceremony, or to disrupt the ceremony,” he added. WGA East tweeted.