'Arrowverse' Cast, Fans Slam Stephen Amell's Claim He 'Does Not Support Striking'

Actor Stephen Amell, who currently stars in the show Heels which premiered its second season last week on Starz, is receiving intense backlash from both former co-stars and fans for his divisive take on the current strike in Hollywood with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

While at GalaxyCon in Raleigh, N.C. last weekend–which Amell was able to attend as it wasn't in promotion of a project as part of a contract and was independent of "struck" companies–the actor said of the situation, "I support my union. I do, and I stand with them. I do not support striking. I don’t."

"I think that is a reductive negotiating tactic. I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating," he further stated. "And I think that the thinking as it pertains to shows like the show that I’m on that premiered last night [Heels season two], I think it’s myopic…”

As part of the strike, actors are forbidden from talking directly about the shows they're in, although they can answer general questions about acting and their life.

A writer in attendance, named Dana Abercrombie, shared a clip of Amell's comments at GalaxyCon.

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When someone asked the user about if Amell was actively promoting his shows, the original poster shared another clip of the actor at a convention lamenting the rules that they aren't supposed to talk about their shows, before saying, "F--k this, let's go."

A few of Amell's former Arrowverse co-stars have responded to his statements, with Kirk Acevedo, who appeared in seasons six and seven of Arrow, tweeting a link to an article about him, adding, "This f-----g guy" with some pointed emoji choices.

Matt Letscher, who played Eobard Thawne a.k.a. Reverse-Flash in other Arrowverse series, didn't mention Amell directly but referenced his statements, tweeting, "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."

Many Arrowverse fans also shared their thoughts on the situation, commenting on Amell's most recent Instagram video.

One person commented, "So f-ing out of touch. A guy who was the lead of a tv series for years can now say he doesn’t support strikes so everyone around making the shows and movies get fair pay…ugh. Your privilege is showing. Tool."

"previous strikes paved the way for the benefits you have enjoyed throughout your career as an actor. how can you be against strikes?" questioned another.

"Respectfully, you’re living off residuals and minimums that striking got you. You’re covered by health insurance that was achieved through collective action— striking. Your career as a viable way to pay your bills was achieved through. STRIKING." wrote actress and writer Kim Kalish, who is currently out striking with her fellow performers.

She went on, "It’s a damn shame you scabbed your way through this weekend and don’t think we should fight for the future of our careers in this industry. Shame on you."

Amell has since responded to the backlash on Instagram, writing, "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 record."

He continued, "What I actually said:1 'I support my union, I do, and I stand with them.' This doesn’t need much clarity: My support is unconditional and I stand with them."

In regards to his anti-striking, "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."

You can read his full statement above.

This article has been updated to include Amell's response.

Next, All About the SAG-AFTRA Strike: What the Shutdown Means for Hollywood