Vice President Kamala Harris pulled out of an MTV appearance next week on mental health in Carson, her first scheduled appearance in her home state since she and President Biden announced their reelection campaign.

The decision was made in solidarity with the Hollywood writers’ strike

,And

of

hope hope

that the event is moved

,

according to sources familiar with Harris’ plans.

She was scheduled to appear in front of a town hall in Cal State Dominguez Hills along with a surprise celebrity guest and young leaders on May 18 to raise awareness of Mental Health Action Day. The initiative, led by MTV, aims to empower young people to self-discover and educate peer support programs on their campuses and in their communities, according to a

press news

release about the event.

Harris is chair of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment and would likely have crossed a picket line had she attended the event.

The Writers Guild of America, representing 11,500 members, began striking on May 2 after

they are

contract expired. The first strike in 15 years comes as the entertainment industry has undergone a massive transformation due to streaming services.

The striking writers are demanding an increase in the minimum wage, better residual payments for streaming content and higher contributions to healthcare costs and pensions. Production studios say they made compensation and remaining concessions, but rejected other demands.

News that Harris pulled out of the event comes a day later

President

Biden called on studios to strike a “fair deal” for writers during remarks during a screening of “American Born Chinese” at the White House in honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

“Nights like this remind us of the power of storytelling and the importance of treating storytellers with dignity, respect and the worth they deserve,” Biden told the crowd. “I sincerely hope that the writers’ strike in Hollywood is resolved and that the writers get the fair deal they deserve as soon as possible.”

Spokesmen for MTV, Cal State Dominguez Hill and the

G

guild did not respond to requests for comment.

This is the second MTV event to be rocked by the strike. The cable channel canceled a live broadcast of the MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday after host Drew Barrymore dropped out in solidarity with the striking writers.

I have listened to the writers and to truly respect them, I will host the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike, she said in a statement. Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television stems from their creation.