Stephen Amell might’ve called the SAG-AFTRA strike “myopic,” but now he’s hoping folks “don’t whip any hard fruit” at him, should they meet on the picket line.
According to the Arrow actor’s new Instagram statement, “soundbites can be taken out of context,” and he has “too much respect for my fellow union members to not clarify the record.”
Earlier this week, Amell became one of the highest-profile stars to gripe about the actors walkout, which began last month. Along with other unions in Hollywood, SAG-AFTRA has repeatedly expressed its solidarity with the Writers Guild of America—which has been on strike since May—and the union has called on members to cease all major studio work, including promotion.
Speaking during a recent appearance at North Carolina’s Galaxycon, Amell said, “I support my union. I do, and I stand with them. But I do not support striking—I don’t. I think it is a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating. And I think the thinking, as it pertains to shows like the show that I’m on [Heels], that premiered last night, I think that it is myopic.”
Amell’s remarks, originally reported by Deadline, quickly went viral on Twitter, where a video clip of the comments began to circulate. Some of Amell’s Arrowverse co-stars did not appreciate what he had to say.
Matt Letscher, who played Eobard Thawne on the CW series The Flash, tweeted Monday that he’s “waiting on that comprehensive list of totally non-reductive negotiating tactics we get to employ now. Thank god for superheroes!” Meanwhile, Kirk Acevedo, who played Ricardo Diaz on Arrow, retweeted a write-up of Amell’s statement with an eye-rolling emoji and three powerful words: “This fucking guy.”
In his lengthy Instagram statement published Tuesday, Amell acknowledged that there’s 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,” Amell wrote, “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.”
Regarding his statement that he does not support striking, he wrote, “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.”
As for calling the strikes “a reductive negotiating tactic” that he finds “incredibly frustrating,” Amell said he was “speaking extemporaneously for over an hour.”
“I emote, but I certainly don’t think these issues are simple,” Amell said. “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.”
Amell continued his statement in the comments section of his original post, where he wrote that he has “no clue” what he meant when he said, “I think the thinking, as it pertains to shows like the show that I am on, that premiered last night, I think it is myopic.”
“Perhaps it was an inarticulate shoutout to our crew and cast, who mean the world to me,” the actor wrote. “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’s comments at GalaxyCon are not the first time he’s appeared to buck SAG-AFTRA’s rules. On Twitter, another video clip has surfaced of the actor speaking at Montreal Comic Con on July 15—two days after SAG-AFTRA called its strike.
In the clip, after acknowledging that he can’t talk about Arrow, presumably due to the strike, Amell goes on to say, “You know what? Fuck this, let’s go”—apparently inviting questions on precisely that subject while his colleague David Ramsey plays into the idea.
Nevertheless, Amell concluded his Instagram statement on Tuesday by saying that he chooses “to stand with my union.”
“This situation reminds of the proverb, ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions,’” the actor wrote, “which apparently, after reading a limited amount of the commentary, is a place many of you would like me to visit.”
