Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav heckled during Boston University speech

Boston University graduates heckled Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Sunday as he delivered a commencement address — demanding the media boss to “Pay your writers” amid the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike.

Zaslav’s commencement speech to his alma mater’s graduating class drew an impassioned response from the nearly 200 protestors gathered outside Nickerson Field, the graduation venue, BU Today reported.

Members and allies of the Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike since May 2 over demands for better pay and job security, chanted and carried signs reading “Protect Residuals Not CEOs” and “Private Jets But No Fair Wages.”

“You wanna be successful, you’re gonna have to figure out how to get along with everyone, and that includes difficult people. Some people—” Zaslav said, pausing as the chants interrupted him.

“Some people will be looking for a fight, but don’t be the one they fight it with. Focus on good people’s qualities,” he continued, according to Fox News.

“In my career, I’ve seen so many talented people lose opportunities or jobs because they couldn’t get along with others,” Zaslav went on.

“You can’t choose the people you work with. Figure out what you like about a person — there’s always something — and do whatever it takes to navigate their challenges. We all have them.”

Throughout the speech, students and others protesting could even be heard shouting, “Shut up, Zaslav!”

Others said they gained invaluable experience from BU faculty who were WGA members themselves.

“There are a lot of students in this graduation ceremony that have graduated this weekend that are looking to go into film and television, and people like Zaslav are fundamentally preventing young writers from establishing themselves,” Lauren Daly, a protestor who works as a TV writer in New York, told BU Today.

Zaslav, who is seen by WGA as an enemy of their movement, was invited to speak at Boston University just days after the strike began, drawing ire from the guild.

“Boston University should not give voice to someone who wants to destroy their students’ ability to build a career in the film and television industry,” the WGA said in a statement.

The writers represented by the guild went on strike after they were unable to reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studios like Discovery-Warner, Netflix, Amazon, Disney and more.

They are asking for better pay and improved residuals from streaming, among other things. It’s WGA’s first strike in 15 years.

Despite the hostile reaction from both graduates and the surrounding community, Zaslav said he was grateful for the experience in a statement given to the Hollywood Reporter.

“I am grateful to my alma mater, Boston University, for inviting me to be part of today’s commencement and for giving me an honorary degree. As I have often said, I am immensely supportive of writers and hope the strike is resolved soon and in a way that they feel recognizes their value,” Zaslav said.

BU seemingly defended its decision to allow Zaslav to give the commencement address.

President Robert Brown told BU’s student newspaper The Daily Free Press that Zaslav’s “accomplishments are worthy of our recognition” even though the university “fully respect[s] the right of the WGA to seek the best possible compensation through the collective bargaining process.” 

“It is not in keeping with our policy for free and open speech to disinvite a speaker to indicate support to a party in a labor dispute,” he wrote.