Stephen Amell wishes his public comments about actors strike stayed “private”
The CWStephen Amell recently criticized striking as a “reductive negotiating tactic”, but he now wishes his comments remained “private” amid backlash from SAG-AFTRA members and fans.
Hollywood is locked in a vice grip right now. Writers and actors have both taken to the picket lines to campaign for fairer compensation in the streaming era, hoping for as little as the ability to qualify for health insurance under increasingly stingy pay. They’re also lobbying against the widespread use of AI and calling for firmer regulation.
The rules are pretty simple: unless they’ve been given an explicit exemption from the union, actors are not to partake in any promotion of their work, whether it’s Q&As, red carpets, or other interviews.
However, Amell was filmed saying “f*ck this” when the audience at a convention wanted to ask about Arrow, and he also said he didn’t support striking.
Stephen Amell wishes striking criticism stayed private
The Arrow star appeared on TMZ after becoming the subject of controversy for his comments about the actors’ strike. “People want you to vote as long as you’re voting for their candidate. I can support my union, but there was a strike authorization vote for a reason,” he said.
“It was overwhelmingly in favor of striking… I think it was just fait accompli that we were willing to authorize that. I think that this has been done in a very black-and-white, all-or-nothing sort of way. I’m talking about shows and movies that were about to come out before the strike – and I’m speaking about shows that I and a bunch of other people poured their heart and soul into that happened to be coming out in a certain window after the strike.
“I don’t think that some of the consideration that was given to some of the projects leading up to the strike and the delay of the strike was given to some of the projects that came on the other side. That’s something that, retrospectively, I should have done a better job of taking up in private with the leadership of my union.”
Amell said he was going to “take a quiet moment”, but said he’d “do anything in [his] power” to “help this process… I don’t consider myself to be a martyr, and frankly I would have preferred that these comments never became public. But they did, and here we are, and hopefully it can just lead to a broader discussion.”
The actor made his comments at Galaxycon in North Carolina, where footage of him was filmed and posted to social media.
Meanwhile, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has reached out to the WGA to schedule a meeting for later this week, with hopes both sides can re-enter negotiations.
You can find out more about why actors and writers are striking here.
