In a likely sign of what’s to come, John Mulaney becomes the first major talent to cancel his For Your Consideration event tied to his new Netflix special, Baby J.
The screening, followed by a conversation between moderator Jon Stewart and the Emmy-winning comic, was scheduled for Saturday night at Netflix’s FYC space. Given what little press Mulaney has done post-rehab and the excitement around his new hour, the event was poised to be well-attended.
The writer-performer’s decision to cancel, which was confirmed by his spokesperson, comes amid newly released strike rules that make clear that writers “should let the company know you are prohibited from making these promotional appearances about your work until the strike concludes.”
Making Saturday’s event that much more potentially problematic for Mulaney was that it was set to take place at Netflix’s own “FYSEE space” at Red Studios. Under strike rules, campaigning at one of the company’s sites is also considered “entering the premises of a struck company.”
Mulaney’s special, which dropped April 25, comes after he spent two months in a Pennsylvania rehab facility to address his use of cocaine, Adderall, Xanax, Klonopin and Percocet. “I leave for rehab, I have on my person a full baggie of 30mg of Adderall, a full baggie of Xanax, 3 grams of cocaine and $2,000 in cash,” he recalls in the special, his fourth for Netflix. “I had other plans that weekend.”
