Arrow and Heels star Stephen Amell has issued a lengthy statement attempting to clarify his recent comments on the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, which attracted tons of negative attention on social media.
Previously, Amell was seen in a video taken at GalaxyCon in North Carolina over the weekend, where he said, “I support my union, I do, and I stand with them. I do not support striking. I don’t. I think that it’s a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating.”
‘Arrow’ actor Stephen Amell says he doesn’t support the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes:
“I do not support striking. I don’t. I think that it’s a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating.” pic.twitter.com/rMTjxYXD8n
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 31, 2023
“I think that the thinking as it pertains to shows like one I’m on that premiered last night, I think that it’s myopic,” he went on.
Amell was referring to Starz’s Heels, which just had its Season 2 premiere on July 28. Under the rules of the SAG-AFTRA strike, which sees the union on the picket lines with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in fighting for a number of crucial contract items, members of the guild are not allowed to promote “struck work.” That means film and television that is produced with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents Hollywood’s studios. Most studio-backed film and TV, including Heels and Arrow, fall under the qualification of “struck work.”
The backlash to Amell’s comments was swift. Even Carina Adly Mackenzie, a writer on The CW’s The Flash, The Originals, and Roswell, New Mexico quote-tweeted a video of Amell taken at Montreal Comic-Con on July 15 – just a day after SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA on the picket lines. In it, he says “fuck this” after noting that “we can’t talk about Arrow.”
“It’s perfectly fine to disagree with the strike. 2% of SAG and WGA voted against it, you’re allowed to be in that category,” Mackenzie wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “But when it doesn’t go your way, to literally say ‘fuck that’ and do what you want, on camera, on stage, undermines everyone’s effort.”
I tried to be diplomatic yesterday, while people tweeted me “isn’t this guy your BFF?”. I hoped everyone was wrong or it was out of context or something. Then the context —the above video and deleted posts — just made it worse.
Anyway. I’m off to the picket line. Week 14.
— carina adly mackenzie (@cadlymack) August 1, 2023
Mackenzie wasn’t the only one; see more reactions to Amell’s initial comments below, including one from Arrow actor Kirk Acevedo.
This fucking guy🙄#KidVicious🖕🏽🐲🖕🏽 https://t.co/VWocGhxEfr
— KID VICIOUS🔪 (@kirkacevedo) August 1, 2023
Still waiting on that comprehensive list of totally non-reductive negotiating tactics we get to employ now. Thank god for superheroes! Any second now…. #SAGAFTRAstrike #SAGAFTRAstrong
— Matt Letscher (@MattLetscher) August 1, 2023
……….
you support your union but you don’t support striking means you don’t support your union.
“I do not support striking. I don’t. I think it’s a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing entirely frustrating.” https://t.co/NzV0l5bDoq
— jen with one n (@darlinginmyway) July 31, 2023
Hey @StephenAmell do you like my new sign 🙂 pic.twitter.com/vH5FMuYIae
— Neil McNeil (Strike Captain) (@Neil_McNeil) August 1, 2023
Stephen Amell, we will cancel the strike if you can define reductive. https://t.co/vtTnD9RUZe
— Travis Helwig (@travishelwig) August 1, 2023
Amell, however, attempted to clarify his comments with a long Instagram post this morning, breaking down his controversial statements in detail.
“Understandably, there has been a lot of reaction to the comments I made this weekend about our strike,” he began. “To ensure there is no misunderstanding about my thoughts and intentions I’m providing what I actually said and clarity/context to ensure my feelings aren’t unintentionally misinterpreted. We all know soundbites can be taken out of context and I have too much respect for my fellow union members to not clarify the record.”
He started with his statement that he “support[s] my union,” saying that that doesn’t need much clarity and that his support for them is “unconditional.” Moving onto his statement that he “do[es] not support striking,” he wrote:
“What this means in full context: I understand fundamentally why we’re here. My off the cuff use of the word ‘support’ is clearly contradictory to my true feelings and my emphatic statement that I stand with my union. Of course I don’t like striking. Nobody does. But we have to do what we have to do.”
“Of course I don’t like striking. Nobody does. But we have to do what we have to do.
He then moved to clarify his comment about finding striking “a reductive negotiating tactic”: “In full context: I’m an actor and I was speaking extemporaneously for over an hour. I emote, but I certainly don’t think these issues are simple. Our leadership has an incredibly complicated job and I am grateful for all that they do. Despite some of my terrible early acting work, I assure you, I’m not a robot. From an intellectual perspective, I understand why we are striking, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t emotionally frustrating on many levels for all involved.”
In regards to the comment where he called it “myopic,” he took a self-deprecating approach, calling it “an inarticulate shoutout to our crew and cast, who mean the world to me.” He added that he is “simply sad” he doesn’t have the chance to “celebrate” the release of Heels Season 2.
“As I said from the jump, I want to ensure that my thoughts and intentions are not misconstrued,” he concluded. “This situation reminds of the proverb, ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions,’ which apparently, after reading a limited amount of the commentary, is a place many of you would like me to visit. However, at least for the foreseeable future, I choose to stand with my union. When you see me on a picket line please don’t whip any hard fruit.”
You can read his full statement here.
For more on the ongoing Hollywood strikes, check out our breakdown on why streaming is broken and how the strikes can fix it.
Thumbnail credit: Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
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