Remember when Drew Barrymore shot herself in the foot (and mouth) by announcing she was bringing back her show amid the writers strike, then during a taping her crew kicked out two people wearing WGA pins, then she posted a word-salad video on a Friday doubling down on her decision to return, only to give in (to common sense and decency) by Sunday and put her show on pause? Good times. All that happened in the span of one week. If I have whiplash from it, surely she does as well. Now that the WGA has reached a tentative agreement with AMPTP, Drew might have nausea as well — she was only two weeks away from completely avoiding this epic PR disaster! Like other daytime talk shows, The Drew Barrymore Show could come back in mid to late October, pending finalization of the new deal. But Drew will forever have the stink of her (self-inflicted) saga attached to her reporting, as exemplified here by ET Online:

With the Writers Guild of America (WGA) having struck a tentative agreement to end its ongoing strike, The Drew Barrymore Show is eyeing a return to the airwaves.

ET has learned that The Drew Barrymore Show is looking to return in October.

Host Drew Barrymore faced intense backlash earlier this month after her announcement that her daytime talk show would return for season four amid the WGA strikes, but without WGA writers.

A week after that controversial announcement, Barrymore apologized publicly and announced that she was going to pause the return of the show amid the outcry.

“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” the host wrote as a caption next to a picture of the same message, which she shared on Sept. 17.

“I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today,” she continued. “We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”

In a statement to ET, a spokesperson from CBS Media Ventures, which produces The Drew Barrymore Show, read: “We support Drew’s decision to pause the show’s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her.”

However, on Sunday, the WGA struck a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end the strike.

While the deal still has to be drafted and faces several votes by WGA officials and members, it’s expected by many that the deal will be ratified and finalized in the next few weeks. Until then, the strike is not officially over, but the WGA has suspended picketing efforts and protests.

[From ET Online]

So Celebitchy and Kaiser got into Drew on Monday’s podcast #159, and now I’m gonna wade in. (Also, please consider that your *spoiler alert* in case you’ve been waiting to listen.) On the Drew Barrymore spectrum, I probably self-identify as not a full-on hater, but I definitely find her relentlessly twee, loosey-goosey persona grating. Maybe I’m not giving her enough credit, maybe I’m taking her at her flower-child-like image too much. But to me the real people to be angry with now are her PR team and managers. Where were they?!! I hold them responsible for letting those Instagram videos see the light of day. For every one celebrity there should be ten wranglers to intervene and save the star from themselves. That’s basic celebrity math.

There is still a way for Drew to come back with the show and address everything that’s gone down. But it would have to be done in exactly the right way, like having the two audience members that were kicked out come on as guests, and having her union writers speak as well. And judging by what we’ve seen coming out of her camp on this issue… let’s just say they have not been nailing the tone. But maybe someday in the future we will forget this dark era for Drew.

Photos via Instagram