SAG’s bitter internal battle over its contract ratification has intensified, with high-profile members such as Melissa Gilbert and Martin Sheen taking sides.

Gilbert, who served two terms as president during 2001-05 but has mostly stayed on the sidelines of SAG politics in recent years, noted that Thursday’s members-only meeting at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel saw former SAG president Ed Asner invoke the Holocaust to describe the impact of the tentative deal.

“That was a real lowlight for me,” Gilbert said. “I have relatives who were Holocaust victims, so it’s most distasteful.”

For his part, Sheen’s the centerpiece of a “vote no” video that opponents posted over the weekend; John Heard, Bill Mumy, Nichelle Nichols, board member Elliott Gould and secretary-treasurer Connie Stevens are also featured. Opponents have also insisted that SAG’s in danger of losing out on new-media revenues just as it did on homevideo two decades ago.

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