Drew Barrymore on supporting striking writers, and being “game” for movie with Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston

Drew Barrymore made headlines last month when she abruptly dropped out of hosting the MTV Movie and TV Awards in solidarity with striking Hollywood writers, promising to return next year instead. 

She tells ABC Audio, “We put, you know, six months of real blood, sweat and tears into building what was going to be an extraordinary show. So it was a very tough decision for everyone. But I think there just came a moment where I realized that I had to make a choice … like, what in my core did I feel was the correct thing to do, not even by committee, just inside of myself,” Drew explains. 

Barrymore says she was delighted MTV backed her decision, saying, “It was an all hands in, ‘Let’s announce this together.'” She also happily explained viewership for the show, which used pre-taped segments they prepared, jumped 24% from last year.

With her eponymous talk show flying high, Barrymore also went viral this year with Jennifer Aniston, thanks to honoring their friend — and former co-star — Adam Sandler at the Kennedy Center Honors. The pair pretended to joust over who was closer to the SNL vet. 

“She’s someone I really trust because she is so pro writers,” Drew says. “And we worked on it until the last minute … We did not go out there and wing anything. We meticulously worked for two weeks with numerous writers on how to pull this off.”

She added of the “wonderful” experience, “It gave us a taste of what it’s like to work together with Sandler. And like, now I just want more.”

So will the three appear in a movie together? “I might have just texted them some pictures the other day of some inspiration, as in, like, I did. I think it’s possible. I certainly would be game.”

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