How One Dual Striker’s Custom Hats Are Raising Money for Picketers

As a member of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, actress, writer and producer Katie O’Brien (TV Land’s TeachersDisney+ Santa clauses) is a double whammy. But he has found a way to fill his time while he supports his fellow picketers.

O’Brien is selling custom hats (with a suggested donation of $25 per hat) featuring catchy slogans—”You’re Giving Corporate Greed” and “ChatGPT wrote this”—via her Instagram account (@katieclaireobrien).

O’Brien had already been collaborating with Leah Bubeck of Rollyhog Embroidery on merchandising for The Buzz, a women’s networking group she co-created, so when the strike happened, she teamed up with Bubeck to make custom hats in an effort to that has a double meaning.

“It’s been a great way to exercise creativity with writing and help out as well,” says O’Brien. THR. She sold 120 hats and raised $3,500 through suggested donations, money that was dispersed to the pickets via strike captains who have been using the dough to buy water, snacks and other essentials.

“(Demand) has continued to grow, and it’s gained a lot of momentum in the last week,” O’Brien notes in the immediate aftermath of the actor’s strike. “I didn’t expect it to become a small business but that’s what it has become. It’s been kind of a full-time job that’s been fun to do.”

Less fun is navigating this current moment with no job to pay the bills. “I have worked as an actor and writer for 10 years. The reason it’s so hard now is that we were already getting paid very little, so spending months without working is very painful. All I’m doing is trying to stay optimistic and trying to find ways to survive in this town and I hope that when all this is said and done, the business can come back in a better way to support the writers and actors. Although it is a horrible moment, it is a necessary moment.”

This story first appeared in the July 26 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here for subscribe.