Jack Black goes shirtless to belt out Taylor Swift's 'Anti Hero' at a SAG-AFTRA fundraiser

Los Angeles, Oct 27 (IANS) Actor-singer Jack Black stripped up shirtless to sing Taylor Swift‘s song ‘Anti-Hero’ at a SAG-AFTRA fundraiser on October 25. Black, who had been expected to perform a stand-up set, ripped his shirt off and walked through the crowd to people’s surprise and amusement, and queried for any song requests.

In fan-captured footage uploaded to X formerly Twitter, the Tenacious D singer was seen on stage, having just performed a stand-up comedy set at the ‘Give Back-ular Spectacular!’ event held at the Orpheum Theater, which supports members of SAG-AFTRA affected by the current strike. Other performers present included Janelle James, Halle Berry, Lily Tomlin and Dax Shepard.

Black stripped off his shirt at the gig and tossed it on the ground. Relegated to his boxers, the ‘Kung Fu Panda’ actor paced around on the stage surveying the crowd as they began clapping and cheering. 

Holding his microphone to the crowd, Black asked if they had any requests. One audience member threw out a song suggestion Black, to which he replied: “I know that one. Everyone knows that f***** song!”

Initially singing the song in a more comical tone, Black soon began doing a more guttural version and started spouting gibberish once it was clear that the ‘School of Rock’ actor had forgotten the lyrics. But that didn’t stop him from just dishing it out, to which the audience was laughing and having a great time.

It was a lighthearted moment amid the seriousness of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes, which have had a considerably negative impact on the economy since starting in July. 

The ‘Give Back-ular Spectacular!’ has raised emergency relief funds for both union and non-union crew members in need, seeing that many of the crew members have gone without a paycheck during the hiatus as tension remains between SAG-AFTRA and the studios. The SAG-AFTRA strike has lasted 104 days, and combined with the recently concluded WGA strikes, the whole thing has lasted nearly six months, according to Variety.

Talks between SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and Hollywood studios were due to re-open this week, having previously broken down earlier in the month.

The action began in July when the union failed to come to an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over increased pay, a share of streaming revenue and protection against actors’ images and voices being replicated by AI.