Scarlett Johansson, Matt Damon, Kristin Chenoweth, Danai Gurira and Zayn Malik are among a group of stars who signed an open letter, calling for Congress to reject proposed cuts to the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) and Medicaid outlined in the Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
In the missive published Wednesday by nonprofit organization Feeding America, the entertainment industry figures are urging Congress “to reject cuts to these vital programs that help millions put food on their tables and provide access to health care.”
“We all have powerful memories of sharing meals with friends, with family and even with strangers in moments of celebration, grief or everything in between. Food is a beautiful way humans show care, compassion and love to those around us. It’s a fundamental part of the human experience and a basic right we all deserve,” the letter read. “Ongoing high grocery costs mean food is out of reach for so many families, and many of our neighbors simply do not have enough to eat. They don’t know where their next meal is coming from or if that meal will be enough to nourish and sustain them.”
The letter continued, “Millions of people in this country, including an estimated 15.5 million children and 7.2 million seniors, rely on programs like [SNAP] and Medicaid to make ends meet. These programs make it possible for them to live more healthily and with dignity, in turn helping communities across America to thrive.”
The massive legislative package, which is currently before the Senate as it winds its way through Congress, seeks to make existing tax rates and brackets permanent, extending the tax cuts passed during Trump’s first term and adding new proposals he campaigned on, like no taxes on tips.
To help partly offset lost tax revenue, the bill includes cuts to government programs including Medicaid and food stamps as well as work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and food stamps, with Republicans claiming the proposals are designed to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and make sure the programs work for the people they were designed to serve.
The letter argues that the bill, “would make some of the largest cuts to SNAP and Medicaid in U.S. history — taking 9.5 billions of meals a year through SNAP off the table and pushing hundreds of thousands of people off Medicaid and into food insecurity. This is unacceptable and wrong. It is not how people in this country treat each other when facing hard times.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimated last month that nearly four million people will have food stamps each month due to the legislation’s proposed changes to SNAP, according to the Associated Press.
Johansson, Damon, Chenoweth, Gurira and Malik weren’t the only notable figures who signed the open letter. Additional signees included Adina Porter, Alan Cumming, Bianca Lawson, Chrishell Stause, Connie Britton, Dan Bucatinsky, Danielle Brooks, Daniella Pineda, David Arquette, Don Johnson, Karen Pittman, Kelvin Beachum, Lana Parrilla, Liev Schreiber, Liza Colón-Zayas, Michael Chiklis, Michelle Williams, Minka Kelly, Nancy Travis, Paul Scheer, Ron Pope, Rosario Dawson, Ryan Eggold, Samantha Harris, Sheryl Crow and Zoey Deutch.
The letter concluded, “We call on Congress to reject cuts to these vital programs that help millions put food on their tables and provide access to health care.”
