UPDATE
9:19 AM PT — Stephen Amell‘s clarifying some of his comments, telling us some of what he said was taken out of context. Stephen says he absolutely supports his union, but doesn’t like the act of striking.
UPDATE
He continues, “What I said: “I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating.” Telling us, “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.”
UPDATE
He was not plugging his “Heelz” show this weekend, despite online reports.
Stephen Amell is a bit of a walking contradiction — on the one hand, he says he backs his union amid the ongoing strike, but on the other … he doesn’t approve of them actually striking.
The “Arrow” star made the controversial comments during a recent promotional appearance in North Carolina, where he was plugging a new season of his Starz show ‘Heels’ … and breaking with SAG-AFTRA’s strike protocol in doing so.
Stephen Amell doesn’t support the #SAGAFTRAstrike and has been actively promoting #HeelsSTARZ during the strike.
Stephen Amell can also afford health insurance and thinks people “don’t know what’s going on.”#SAGAFTRAstrong #sagaftramembers #SAGAFTRA pic.twitter.com/LNDPakv8qr
— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@sagesurge) July 31, 2023
@sagesurge
Actors aren’t supposed to be promoting projects during the strike, but there was Stephen plugging away, and not holding back his opinion on the work stoppage … calling it unproductive and unnecessary.
Take a listen for yourself … his disdain for how SAG is handling things is clear, although he does say he supports them as an org. What he doesn’t condone is its decision to shut down the industry to get what they want.
He calls it a “reductive negotiating tactic” … but doesn’t really elaborate much more beyond that. Amell also said he found the entire ordeal incredibly frustrating and myopic.
Of course, his remarks here are not sitting well with other actors in the biz … and Amell is getting dragged on social media right now as a would-be traitor and scab. A lot of folks are pointing out his sentiment doesn’t actually make sense — arguing it’s all or nothing.
Amell appears to have responded … taking to IG to shout out everyone who came to see him, and promising to keep going during a workout. Seems he’s telegraphing something.
Originally Published — 7:35 AM PT