I Just Lost My Job Because I’m An American – HuffPost

The email arrived unexpectedly last week :

And that, as they say, is that.

There goes 20% of my cash flow.

It’s my first time being boycotted — my first time canceled.

I’m a voice-over actor. I provide the intelligent, trustworthy and engaging voice you hear narrating a TV commercial, a medical device explainer or a YouTube mini-documentary. I’m the voice on those annoying requisite training webinars you likely arrow-through quickly. I’m the aural comfort and security that helps relay information or nudges you toward trusting a brand or message.

But the trust in “that American sound” has been shattered. My client — an international organization that interacts with countries on every continent — no longer wants money going to American individuals or industry, and no longer wants an American-sounding voice to be associated with its hope-filled endeavors.

This isn’t a Ukrainian client. This isn’t some retaliatory Chinese, Iranian or North Korean company’s move. The company isn’t based in the European Union. Instead, it’s friendly Canadians, who are justifiably and patriotically uniting against our now-enemy nation led by a mad king.

And this is how our former allies are reacting. I can’t wait to see the actions from nations that have always hated us.

When the email arrived, I wanted to protest the decision — to upload proof of my entire-adult-life voting record or share links to my vast writings on LGBTQ issues and left-leaning initiatives.

Look! See! I’m just as pissed off as you are! We’re on the same side! I agree with you!

But it doesn’t matter. Everyone in the United States is guilty by association. The world has lost patience with us, even if we didn’t vote for Donald Trump. We are lumped together — whether we actually support the bad guys or we’re just lost causes suffering under them — and there will be economic consequences for all of us.

Rejection is part of any creative person’s life. We’re prepared for the “we’re taking a change in direction” speech. New CEOs, creative directors or VPs come in and tinker with existing contractor relationships. Decision-makers are replaced by new blood. It’s part of the gig, and I’ve endured such losses over the years.

But this email — this loss — stung. Any freelancer will tell you that when you succeed in finding that elusive client — the one who respects boundaries, appreciates your work without micromanaging or requesting changes, and then (gasp!) always pays you on time — you want to hold onto them for dear life.

Courtesy of Joe Guay

Things were going so well.

Now this precious gift of a dependable income stream vanished, thanks to Trump’s ridiculous tariffs and “let’s make Canada the 51st state” trash talk. It’s a devastating blow while I’m already worrying about more and more companies using AI to write their scripts, edit their videos and even narrate the damn video, too.

Still, when the initial shock and hurt of losing this contract wore off, I had to tip my hat to those Canadians. I get it. I don’t blame them. Enough is enough. Someone has to have the balls to take a stand. And I have great respect for my Canadian friends and colleagues.

At least my former employer had the integrity to tell me the truth. He could’ve said my work wasn’t meeting their standards, claimed they wanted a new sound, or blamed it on budgetary tweaks. He could’ve just ghosted me.

Instead he wanted me to hear — and thought it was important for me to know — that our fearless leader’s words and actions will have consequences.

So, I’m being boycotted… by friendly Canadians.

I guess I’ll go commiserate with the former U.S. government employees who’ve also been tossed aside with violent, willy-nilly abandon. I have an inkling we’re going to be hearing similar accounts from average and not-so-average Americans feeling the pinch in the coming months, as the more forward-looking nations wash their hands of us (and our nonsense) and make harsh retaliatory and defensive moves.

The most daunting questions remain. With so many bridges burned — when all of our former allies have turned away from us and stepped forward as new global powers led by reliable and mature leaders — what will happen to the citizens of this country and this American experiment?

Blue state or red state, we’re all in the same bucket. We’re the bad guys to everyone — and anyone on the right side of history doesn’t come to save the bad guys. It will be up to us to save ourselves. But can democracy win in the face of so many actively rooting for it to fail?

I don’t know.

But I will keep fighting by using my voice and my writing, because what else can I do?

Brush up on my military contractor sound, since that’s where we’re headed? Or just adopt a British accent and acquire a new mailing address?

Right now I’m in mourning — over all of it.

Joe Guay is a voiceover actor and writer currently residing in California. His words have been featured in Katie Couric Media and YourTango. A recovering people pleaser aiming to be “the poor man’s David Sedaris,” Joe provides “Dispatches from the Guay Life” on topics like mental health, growing up gay, nature as church, travel, showbiz and humor on Medium.com, and you can also find him on Substack or at www.JoeGuay.com.