Our beloved Oliver Queen is currently under fire over the comments he dropped during his appearance at GalaxyCon in Raleigh, NC on July 29. Stephen Amell‘s take on the ongoing actors’ strike which kicked off on July 13, after the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) failed to reach a deal with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) wasn’t satisfactory one bit.
Even though about 98 percent of the guild members voted in favor of the strike, Amell feels differently about it. When the opportunity presented itself during a Q&A session, he didn’t hesitate to share his thoughts on it.
RELATED: Stephen Amell Is Open To Returning as Green Arrow in James Gunn’s New DCU
What Stephen Amell Said That Got Him Blasted By His Fellow Arrowverse Stars
In an appearance on a Q&A panel with fans at the GalaxyCon, Amell shared that while he is in full support of his team for what they are doing and what they are trying to achieve, he is completely against “striking.” You can see a clip of Amell’s comments regarding the strike from the convention below:
“I feel like I’m insulated in Hollywood because that’s where I live. I literally live in Hollywood. Like all the stereotypes that exist. So I feel like a lot of people in this room aren’t aware of the strike. I support my union—I do, and I stand with them, I do not support striking. I don’t. I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating. And I think that the thinking as it pertains to shows like the show that I’m on [Heels] that premiered last night—I think it’s myopic.”
Stephen Amell at GalaxyCon, h/t to E! News Online for the transcription
It’s worth noting that the reason Amell is against the strike is because of its rules which prohibit actors from promoting their works, attending premieres of their films, and award shows. Amell feels affected by these rules mostly because Heels Season 2 debuted on July 28, about two weeks into the SAG-AFTRA strike. It was just under two years from Season 1’s original release. It seems his hands are tied since he can’t do interviews to promote the film.
It didn’t take long for the clip to go viral. Some Twitter users jumped on the clip. One person tweeted, “I love that Stephen Amell (who makes enough money to qualify for healthcare and be able to pay for necessities), finds the strikes ‘frustrating.'”
While another person shared a clip culled from SpongeBob cartoon where Squidward said, “I was just kidding! Come on, you guys know I was just kidding,” and captioned it, “Stephen Amell when the SAG strike ends and he has to see all his costars back on set.” Meanwhile, Amell’s comments didn’t sit well with several actors especially his Arrowverse actors that are fully participating in the strike and they didn’t hesitate to give him a dose of their opinion.
One of his fellow Arrowverse actors Matt Letscher, who starred as Eobard Thawne on CW’s The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, tweeted, “Still waiting on that comprehensive list of totally non-reductive negotiating tactics we get to employ now.” While Kirk Acevedo, who starred as Richard Dragon on Amell’s Arrow, simply retweeted a Hollywood Reporter story on Amell’s GalaxyCon comments and wrote, “This fucking guy.”
Stephen Amell Sets The Record Straight
Following the reactions to the viral clip, the actor made a lengthy post on Instagram on August 1, explaining what he meant when he said, “I do not support striking.” He wrote the following statement on his Instagram account:
“Please read below as I thought it was important to clarify comments I made this week. Understandably, there has been a lot of reaction to the comments I made this weekend about our strike. 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 records.”
— Stephen Amell
RELATED: Stephen Amell’s Wrestling Show Announces Big Time Heel
Amell then went on to list and explain his exact words numerically. Getting to the part where he said, “I don’t support striking.” The actor continued:
“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. Nobody does. But we have to do what we have to do.”
Amell also touched on the part where he said, “I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating,” and further explained:
“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 conclusion, Amell revealed that although he disagrees with the strike, he will at some point join his colleagues in the strike, and he went on to plead with his fans that should any of them see him in the queue they shouldn’t “Whip any hard fruit.”
Having cleared the air on what he meant, do you think Stephen Amell will be welcomed by his team if he ever queues up for the strike? Share your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media. Keep following the Illuminerdi for more content like this because we’re always watching.
SOURCE: E! News, ComicBookMovie, Vanity Fair
KEEP READING: Stephen Amell Is Open To Returning as Green Arrow in James Gunn’s New DCU
