Drew Carey explains why he helped striking writers pay for their meals

(CNN) — Drew Carey picked up a really big tab last year and doesn’t regret it.

The actor and host of “The Price is Right” covered meals for members of the Writers Guild of America at Bob’s Big Boy and Swingers in Los Angeles during their 148-day strike last summer and fall.

Carey appeared at the WGA Awards ceremony on Sunday night, where he joked about the bill they rang up.

“Honestly, I didn’t know it was going to cost me so much money,” Carey said on stage. “The last time, I think the total bill (during a 2007 strike) was like $67,000, fifteen years ago. I thought it was going to be about the same thing, but then some of you decided, ‘Oh yeah, I’m going to get a shake and dessert.’”

He said his accountant called him up concerned about how long the strike was going on.

“When the bills started piling up, my accountant called and was like, ‘Is there any way we can dial this back?’” he said.

But Carey kept on paying, he said Sunday, because “it was the right thing to do.”

“You writers, well not all of you, ‘The Drew Carey Show’ writers — made me a f***ing million. Everybody in this room makes some actor a million. And you deserve all the money you get.”

Carey reportedly spent an estimated $1 million on the meals.

“Deeply appreciate all the love and thanks. It as [worth] every dime. But if you really want to thank someone for those meals, thank Bruce Helford and all the ‘Drew Carey Show’ writers,” Carey wrote on X in September. “They helped make me rich enough to afford it, No writers, no $. Simple as that.”

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