Not everyone is chasing the commercial-money bag. Los Angeles indie rock trio Cheekface just announced their upcoming album Podium last week, and now they've told the story of how they recently turned down a lucrative chance to appear in an AT&T commercial because of the companies ties to ICE and the Dept. Of Homeland Security.
In an Instagram post this morning, Cheekface wrote that a casting director recently contacted them, looking for a "credible, tight-knit band" to appear in a commercial. The casting director didn't tell them which company the ad would be for, but the gig would've paid what the band calls a "really significant" amount of money. Cheekface sent over an audition tape.
In their Instagram post, Cheekface shared a screenshot text in which the unnamed casting director told the band that they were "one of the favorites for our project," which turned out to be an AT&T ad, and asked them to meet the director in person. The band responded, "Unfortunately due to AT&T's contracts with ICE we're going to decline to go any further with this." The band says they're sharing the story to demonstrate that "if you’re a band (or just a person) and you’re offered a bunch of money for something that doesn’t seem right to you, you can say no, and it’ll be fine."
In 2024, AT&T announced a $146 million-dollar 10-year contract with the Dept. Of Homeland Security. Right now, there's a petition asking AT&T to drop its contracts with Homeland Security, Border Patrol, and ICE.
