Stephen Amell Clarifies His 'Misinterpreted' Strike Comments: 'I Have No Clue What I Was Trying to Say'
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Amell received backlash — including some from his fellow Arrowverse alums — after calling the SAG-AFTRA strike "a reductive negotiating tactic" over the weekend
Stephen Amell is clarifying his stance on the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
On Tuesday, the Arrow star, 42, shared a message on his Instagram to show his “unconditional” support of the actors’ union after he received backlash for speaking out about the strike at Galaxycon in Raleigh, N.C. over the weekend.
“I support my union, I do. And I stand with them. I do not support striking. I don’t,” he said during the convention's fan Q&A, which later went viral on social media. “I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic. I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating. I think the thinking as it pertains to shows — like the show that I’m on that premiered last night — I think it’s myopic.”
In a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday, Amell said he wanted to provide “clarity/context to ensure my feelings aren’t unintentionally misinterpreted” because “soundbites can be taken out of context and I have too much respect for my fellow union members to not clarify the record.”
The actor then went point by point through his comments to give context to each of his remarks from the event.
Amell clarified his stance on the strike, writing, “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.”
Related: Everything to Know About the SAG Strike and How It Will Affect TV and Movies
Referring to his comment calling the strike a “reductive negotiating tactic,” he explained, “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,” he continued. “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.”
He also clarified his reference to the strike being “myopic,” noting, “Nothing about the strike is funny but if I may self deprecate for a moment. I have no clue what I was trying to say here and who says, ‘I think that thinking...?’”
Related: SAG Strike Rules: What Hollywood Actors Can and Can’t Do Until a Resolution Is Reached
“Perhaps it was an inarticulate shoutout to our crew and cast, who mean the world to me,” he added. "I’m simply sad that we don’t have a chance to celebrate a show that all of us figuratively and I literally, broke my back for.”
Amell concluded his message by once again vowing to support SAG-AFTRA.
“As I said from the jump, I want to ensure that my thoughts and intentions are not misconstrued,” he wrote. “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.”
He continued, “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.”
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The clarification comes after some of Amell’s Arrowverse alums called out his comments about the strike — which began on July 14 after failed contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — on social media.
Kirk Acevedo, who played Ricardo Diaz aka The Dragon on Arrow, tweeted, “This f---ing guy” while Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash alum Matt Letscher shared, “Still waiting on that comprehensive list of totally non-reductive negotiating tactics we get to employ now. Thank god for superheroes! Any second now….”
Ahead of the strike, members of SAG-AFTRA had been seeking pay and residual increases, higher caps on pension and health contributions as well as regulating the use of artificial intelligence, among other things. Many Hollywood stars have since hit the picket lines to support the strike, including Hilary Duff, Francia Raisa, Bryan Cranston and Jason Sudeikis.
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