Andrew Yang Says WWE Talent Is Being Forced To Sign New Contracts With Twitch Obligations
Following up on Thursday's story...
The news came out Thursday that WWE was taking over the Twitch accounts of their talents over the next four weeks. Talents would receive just a percentage of the revenue of the streams, which would then count against said talents' downside guarantees.
Former US Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, who has been outspoken about WWE's stance on their talents' dealings with third-party services (as well as the "independent contractor" designation for their wrestlers), tweeted that he'd been in contact with some WWE talents, and they've told him about new contracts that are apparently making Twitch a part of their mandated work obligations.
Yang wrote, "Hearing from talent that WWE is forcing performers to sign new contracts that include twitch. Streaming on twitch will become a work obligation and if talent doesn’t stream they will forego earnings, be suspended or face penalties. Doesn’t sound like independent contractors."
It was also reported yesterday that WWE talents received an e-mail from Vince McMahon, reminding them that they had until October 2 to cease any unauthorized activity with third-party outlets.
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.
