Abbi Jacobson Is Auctioning Off Her Blue ‘Broad City’ Dress to Benefit Striking Writers

There have been many sacrifices made since the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions began striking in Hollywood. Three months in, writers’ bank accounts are taking a major hit as creatives continue to strike for better contracts and compensation. A week ago, actors joined the strike in solidarity with the writers, grinding Hollywood to an almost complete halt. That means, in turn, that California’s economy is losing millions. (The 100-day strike in 2007-08  cost the state a whopping $2.1 billion!) To say it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation would be an understatement.

Remarkably, on Thursday morning, yet another extraordinary sacrifice was made. Abbi Jacobson stepped forward clutching the prize of a generation — her blue bodycon dress from Broad City. The League of Their Own star hit Instagram to announce she would be auctioning off her character Abbi Abrams’ iconic party garment to benefit The Union Solidarity Commission. (TUSC has been assisting striking workers with living and healthcare expenses.)

Jacobson wrote: “Have you ever wanted to own a real piece of Hollywood history? Some would say a priceless iconic garment? Others a treasured sliver of a time gone by? … This will obviously come with a handwritten note from me as this gem is hard to part with (and the Smithsonian hasn’t returned my calls). It’s taken me 5 years just to peel it off my body. Go bid and help a great cause!”

Jacobson’s former Broad City co-star Ilana Glazer was quick to leave a comment asking “how do I win this dress… pls.”

Abbi’s blue dress appeared repeatedly throughout Broad City’s five seasons — an on-screen reflection of the Millennial need to use the one nice thing they own over and over again in order to justify its purchase.

In the show, Abbi first bought the dress to attend a fancy rooftop party without looking too “vanilla.” It reappeared at her birthday dinner at a snooty restaurant where she — to her absolute horror — “peed out a condom.” Next up, Abbi and her blue dress went on a yacht date with Ilana, Lincoln, Jaime and way too many lawyers to celebrate Jaime becoming an American citizen. By the time Abbi’s mom showed up and wore the dress on a night out, we all understood the pain of the moment. The blue dress got one last spin around the block when Abbi first went on a date with Trey.

At the time of writing, Abbi’s blue dress had received 27 bids and was sitting at $5,010. Other items in the TUSC auction include a ceramic vase made by Seth Rogen, a “private hang” with Woody Harrelson, blankets hand-knitted by Justine Bateman, a bikini hand-knit by Lena Dunham and a writing workshop with Amber Tamblyn. The dress has far and away the highest bid of any lot in the auction so far, but the price is bound to increase further. The auction is running until 4 p.m. on Aug. 5.

You can bid on the blue dress here or check out all of TUSC’s auction items here.