Brooke Shields explains Broadway’s tough schedule with this expression
Actress and Actors’ Equity Association President Brooke Shields tells USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa how she feels about the state of Broadway.
Brooke Shields is continuing to criticize the creators of “South Park,” Trey Parker and Matt Stone, over a worker dispute at their Casa Bonita restaurant in Denver.
The actress told CNN that she used a fake name and went to the Colorado restaurant owned by Parker and Stone in March to deliver a letter asking for better wages for the performers who provide live entertainment to guests.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Parker and Stone.
Shields serves as president of the Actors’ Equity Association, the union that represents about 80 performers at Casa Bonita, per CNN.
Describing her visit to Casa Bonita as “slightly an ambush,” Shields told CNN, “It’s just so disheartening because [the performers are] putting their lives at risk, and they’re not being looked after.” She added that she has not heard anything from Stone or Parker amid the negotiations. “It’s just silence, radio silence,” she said.
The star said the negotiations with management at Casa Bonita has to do with achieving both increased pay for the performers and better safety protections, with CNN reporting that performers allege they got hypothermia and chlorine toxicity from the diving pool. They are also asking for security for performers who interact with guests.
In a statement to CNN, the company’s management said that “we value all of our team members and their well-being. As a policy we do not comment on ongoing labor negotiations.”
Parker and Stone purchased Casa Bonita in 2021 after the restaurant closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and declared bankruptcy. The TV creators enjoyed going to the restaurant growing up in Colorado, and they’ve featured it on “South Park.”
Speaking on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in May, Parker and Stone revealed that they planned to spend around $7 million or $8 million restoring Casa Bonita, but they wound up paying around $50 million. Parker joked that “we would have been the richest comedians” in the world, if not for the fact that “we decided to buy a restaurant.”
Contributing: James Powel, USA TODAY
